Brown Eyes
by thomasbrodiegangster
Summary: He was possessive He was loveable And he claimed her as his...
1. Prologue

**prologue**

She wakes to the sounds of a creaking chain. She slightly opened her heavy eyes and attempted to take in her surroundings through her half-asleep state. She seemed to be in a small, metal box, but after opening her eyes fully she see that she is in some sort of metal elevator. Well that explains the creaking. She looks up and sees a rusty, unstable looking chain clinking up, and up, and up. Gosh, it stinks in here. She tries to stand up, to get a better look at this place and see what the hell's going on, but falls right back down as soon as she attempted to put weight on her wobbly knees. She lets out a lazy grunt, and tries again. This time she leans her back against the cool metal of the elevator side and slides her way slowly up, until she is standing leaning heavily against the wall. She looks down and nearly collapses again; the floor is made of a metal grid and she can see where the elevator has come from. The blackness goes on and on and on; she must have already travelled at least 100 meters in this run-down, rusty elevator. Suddenly, the chain pulling her towards her destination (wherever that is) begins to jerk, climbing more slowly upwards. A singular sound floods her ears; what must be an alarm going off. It goes on like this for what seems like ages, and then a clear gas comes through the grid-like bottom of the box. She immediately panics; and falls down again. Her vision becomes hazy and she is no longer worried about the elevator, where it is going, where she came from, what she's doing here, or what the hell that gas is. She drifts off and 2 minutes later is laying awkwardly against the cool metal floor.

She's left to her own thoughts as she is lifted jerkily upwards, unconscious but aware of her surroundings and thoughts. She realises she doesn't know anything, she has no memories of childhood, teenage years, her parents, how she got here, or even her name. Her breaths become faster and shallower as she panics in her mind. Eventually her mind drifts away from the scary reality and she is left peacefully unconscious.


	2. Chapter 1

**chapter 1**

She can hear voices, all male by the sounds of it. They are all shouting, whistling and jeering, but the noise is faint, as though it's resounding through a tunnel. She is still laying on the cool metal floor of the box, unconscious but aware. The box shakes as a thump echoes in her ears. Someone must have jumped down into the box. The person walks jerkily towards where she is laying on the ground, and pauses when directly above her, blocking out the harsh light which she now realises was the sun. The person leans over her and examines her, then straightens again and calls to the others who were obviously crowded around the two; "It's a girl". Yep, definitely a male. The voice is throaty and soft, yet firm, as though the owner has often given out orders, but is also kind, and it has a soft, British tinge to it. The person now crouches down next to her, and leans in, as though to get a better look. He calls out again; "She's knocked out", and a gravelly, rough voice calls back from the surrounding crowd; "And soon she'll be knocked up" This proclamation earned a mixture of snickers, laughter and angry shouts, including one from the person standing above her, who yelled; "Hey, not cool, shuck-face" and then, when his yell was met with angry shouts from the boy who had shouted the rude comment, the person above her yelled again; "Oi, slim it real calm you slint-head, I was just saying.." The boy, who had stood up again to retort, crouched back down next to her. She could feel her head clearing, and her vision from underneath her heavy eyelids become clearer. Her eyelids flickered as she attempted to open her eyes, and the boy above her leant over her, to see whether she was awake. The boy was slim, yet strong looking and fairly brown, as though he spent most of his time outside and exercising. He had choppy, blonde hair, and a serious looking face. All in all, he was extremely handsome. He looked back up to where the crowd was obviously gathered and ordered "Go back to work, you shanks, I'll get her to the med-jacks", and when this was met with protests, he shouted again, "I said, go back to work, or it'll be the bloody slammer for the lot of ya" As she heard the sound of shuffling feet as the boys all went back to work, she opened her eyes slightly more, to get a better look, and the boy above her was obviously startled to see her awake, exclaiming "Ummm, shuck, I'm ah I'm Newt" As she took in her surroundings more thoroughly, she discovered that the box had reached its destination; a large field with green grass, animals, shacks, and more sturdy looking buildings spread out, but all surrounded by massive, stone walls that reached up for ages before ending. The boy, Newt, studied her face as she took in her new surroundings, and said, with a hint of gloominess in his voice, "Welcome to the Glade", then, when she didn't respond other than focusing back on him with a look of utter confusion, he asked "So, do you remember your name yet?" This question made her panic, thinking oh my god, I don't even remember my own name! He once again studied her face again, as her eyes widened in fear and panic and her breathing became faster and strained; she was panicking. This was obviously not the reaction he had hoped for, as his expression turned to one of concern, as he looked at her and hurriedly said "Shuck, sorry, don't worry, you'll remember in a few days, happened to all of us" But then, the world went dark again as she blacked out for the second time.

Eleanor, she thinks, that's my name. Now where the hell am I? She's laying on a soft bed. She opens her eyes slowly, hey eyesight adjusting to the harsh light of the room. She is in a room with a wooden ceiling, and she thinks that she must be inside one of the shacks or buildings that she had seen earlier. She realises that there is someone sitting next to the bed she is laying on, and the person stirs, the chair creaking as they lean forward to see if she's awake. It's Newt, the boy from before. As Eleanor begins to sit up, he leans back again, giving her space. He then says, "Sorry about before, didn't mean to scare you" Eleanor leans back against the bedhead and looks over at him "It's ok, but umm, where am I exactly?" He smiles, slightly sarcastically, and says "Well, you're in the bloody Glade," and as she opens her mouth to ask him what 'The Glade' is, he adds "But don't worry, you don't know what the shuck I'm talking about, do ya?" He smiles crookedly at the look of utter confusion which is obviously painted across her face and says, "Well come on then, I'll give you the grand tour of the shuck place" He stands up, and holds out a hand to help Eleanor up from the bed, and when she hesitates, says softly, "It's ok, you can trust me, I won't hurt you" She hesitates for just a second longer and then takes his hand, standing up from the bed and then following him out into the hallway. His 'Grand Tour' consists of him showing her around the Glade, telling her about the different jobs, and the way things are run in the Glade. He has explained everything except for the huge stone walls surrounding the Glade, with four doors leading to something she can't see. She starts to walk towards the nearest door, asking Newt "And what the hell are these massive stone walls surrounding us?" As she draws nearer to the door, he grabs her wrist and gently pulls her back, saying "Oh no, no, no, you don't go out there, that there's the shuck Maze" When she simply looks curious, he takes a deep breath and explains; "So basically, once a month a new greenie (that's you) comes up in the box, and every week, we get supplies. None of us know how we got in here, and we sure as klunk don't know how the bloody hell to get out." He points to the walls and continues "See that there's the maze, one of the main rules of the Glade is to never go into the maze, **never**. Except of course if you're a runner. They go out every morning when the walls open, and run all through the shuck place. But in the three years we've been here, they still haven't found a way out. But they map new stuff every day, and record in on maps, in the map room" He points to a small, squat stone building with a heavy looking door. "The main reason that no one goes into the maze is that if you're on the wrong side of the doors when they close, you're stuck there all night, and no one ever survives a night in the maze" He finishes, and then looks at Eleanor for her reaction. Her face is blank with shock, and she states, absentmindedly "Well that's right cheerful, isn't it" Newt chuckles, "Ha! You know, you're quite funny, aren't ya?" You open your mouth to say something back when a new voice joins the conversation "What, did someone say funny, cause that sure as shuck means you're talkin' bout me" Eleanor spins around to see a muscly, Asian boy jogging towards her and Newt.


	3. Chapter 2

**chapter 2**

He has a pack strapped to him, and looks absolutely exhausted, as if he's been running for hours on end. Eleanor realises that that is exactly what this kid has been doing; he must be a runner. Newt cracks another crooked smile and says "Ah, Minho, you shank, no I wasn't talking about you, I was talking about old Ell over here" "Ell?" she exclaims, "That sounds terrible, surely you can do better than that, hell 'Greenie's better than that" She says, using the word that seemed like an insult after having in thrown at hr form various boys she had met that day. The Asian boy laughs appreciatively, "Ha! Newty was right, you are funny, I like you!" he exclaims, "Just don't go stealing my thunder, being the funny one" "Fine, I'll be the sassy one then", Eleanor replies triumphantly. The boy laughs again, louder this time and pronounces again "You're funny, I'm gonna keep you. I'm Minho, by the way" "Eleanor" she replies "And you can't call me Ell" she adds, glaring at Newt, who was still laughing from her encounter with Minho. "Fine, sorry", Newt gets out in between laughs. Suddenly, a loud grating sound of stone on stone echoes throughout the Glade and Eleanor jumps. Newt places a hand on her arm and says soothingly "Don't worry, it's just the doors closing for the night" "Well come on, you slint-heads, the parties gonna start without its special guest of honour if we don't get back to homestead," Minho pipes up, "And we had to wait for you to wake up for the sucking days before we could open some grog without being yelled at by Alby" "Well sorry," Eleanor replies, already following him, walking alongside Newt back towards the homestead, where she could see a fire blazing and hear boys shouting and laughing, "I guess I just needed some more beauty sleep to perfect the look" Both Newt and Minho erupt in laughter.

Only half an hour after joining the party, Eleanor grows sick of the other Gladers hitting on her, all the while calling her 'Greenie' Minho had disappeared to play a drinking game with some of the boys, but Newt had stayed with her, sending Gladers off when they came to close or whenever Eleanor looked uncomfortable. She stands up on her toes and says quietly to Newt "I'm just gonna go sit down over there for a bit", and he replies "Good, I was hoping you'd want to leave soon, I don't really like parties" They go and sit down on a log a short distance from the fire and the party, and talk for a few minutes when suddenly a loud animalistic noise echoes out from the maze. Eleanor looks at the maze in fear, and before she can ask, Newt explains; "There's a reason the doors shut at night. Or maybe it's just an advantage, I dunno. Anyway, there's also a reason no one survives a night in the maze. We call them Grievers. No one really knows what they look like, coz no one's ever encountered one and lived to tell the tale." He looks at Eleanor to gauge her reaction to this little piece of horrifying information. She looks absolutely terrified. Newt laughs at her expression and pulls her closer to him, slinging an arm around her shoulders and saying "But no need for you to worry, I'll keep you safe" Eleanor lightens up a bit and she laughs, smiling. Newt doesn't remove his arm, and she doesn't move away from him, and they sit and talk for hours as the party goes on.

A few days pass, and Eleanor grows used to life in the Glade, with the help of Minho and of course Newt. Both boys had become her closest friends, and she already loved them both. Eleanor was wondering around the Deadheads, looking idly at the different names carved into stone on her break. Newt was checking on the sick guy (Ben or something), and Minho was of course out running the maze. Eleanor stopped suddenly as she heard something snap behind her, a twig probably. "Who's there?" She cried out, but she shut up when heard ragged breathing coming from behind her, and came face to face with Ben. "Shit" She muttered. Ben was coming closer, and closer. She turned and sprinted as fast as she could away from him. She reached the glade and turned her head around to see where Ben was. He was running after her. 'Dammit', she thought, 'Why'd the guy have to be a bloody runner?' She say Newt come limping out of the homestead, and watched as his face paled and twisted with anger and concern. He started to run towards where she was heading, as best as he could with his limp. Out of the corner of her eye she say Minho come jogging out of the Maze at the West Door. She just kept running, just trying to get away from Ben, not really focusing on where she was going. She was just near the East Door when suddenly the wind was knocked out of her; Ben had caught up to her and had tackled her roughly to the ground. He was clawing at her with his nails as she struggled underneath him, not strong enough to remove his heavy weight. He reached into his pocket and extracted a knife. Eleanor looked at it in horror, and heard Newt screaming at Ben as he ran towards the struggling pair. Ben grabbed her, and dragged her along, towards the door, slashing at her struggling limbs with the knife whenever she tried to get away from him. After a minute, she realised that Ben had dragged her into the maze, past the door, and the doors where going to close at any minute. Ben stopped, kicked her harshly in the side, making her scream in pain, and then began walking back towards the door. He shouted in a harsh voice; "Greenie's gonna die hahaha! The new Greenie will die!" He laughed crazily, and walked back towards the door, where Newt was fast approaching, running as fast as his limp would allow. Then, Eleanor's heart stopped as the now familiar sound of the closing doors sounded throughout the Glade. Ben froze; he was standing right where the doors would close together. Eleanor began to crawl towards the doors, desperate to get out before they closed. Newt was still running, looking as though he was going to run into the Maze, but Alby appeared out of nowhere and tackled him to the ground, yelling "You can't go in there, no one goes in the Maze" "NO! BUT ELEANOR'S OUT THERE! YOU CAN'T JUST LEAVE HER, I'VE GOT TO GET HER!" Newt roared back, struggling to escape Alby's grasp. Eleanor was still crawling towards the doors, when suddenly, they closed with a loud boom, Ben still standing exactly where they collided, now squashed. A spray of blood flew from the doors, and some landed on Eleanor's face. She wiped it off quickly, and turned around. She was stuck in the maze with the doors closed, and no one survived the night. She could hear newt yelling, swearing and sobbing from the other side of the door. "Well, may as well run", she muttered, as she set off down the first corridor of the maze. That's when she heard it; the same sound she had heard the night of the party; the grievers. And she ran. She ran the entire night, at one point coming face to face with a griever and escaping narrowly, but severely injured. She could just see the sun creeping up, and knew that meant that the doors would open soon. She began to run back towards the doors, and just as they came into sight, another griever rounded the corner. It roared, and she let out a loud, terrified scream as it began tearing towards her. She could faintly hear Newt yelling, still at the doors to the maze. The griever tackled her to the ground, cutting and slicing her, and she was fighting as best as she could, but she knew that she would not survive this; after all, no one survived the night. Suddenly, she heard the sound of the doors opening, and as though summoned, the griever stopped attacking her. She could hear Newt's yells as he entered the Maze, obviously looking for her. The griever hurried away down a corridor of the maze just as Newt rounded the corner, his face pale white, and his eyes bloodshot, trained on the retreating beast. As the griever hurried out of sight, he looked down, and the look in his eyes as he say Eleanor was indescribable. He was horrified, and he sobbed once, before kneeling down next to her and lifted her exhausted body into his lap, hugging hr tight to his chest as he sobbed again. "Bloody hell, Eleanor, I thought I lost you", "Shuck, I can't believe you survived the night!" "Oh my god, oh my shucking god, are you alright?" Eleanor used the last of her strength to smile, wincing at even the small movement, and causing Newt to hold her tighter, "What, were you worried about me?" And then the world went dark.


	4. Chapter 3

**chapter 3**

A few days pass, and Eleanor grows used to life in the Glade, with the help of Minho and of course Newt. Both boys had become her closest friends, and she already loved them both. Eleanor was wondering around the Deadheads, looking idly at the different names carved into stone on her break. Newt was checking on the sick guy (Ben or something), and Minho was of course out running the maze. Eleanor stopped suddenly as she heard something snap behind her, a twig probably. "Who's there?" She cried out, but she shut up when heard ragged breathing coming from behind her, and came face to face with Ben. "Shit" She muttered. Ben was coming closer, and closer. She turned and sprinted as fast as she could away from him. She reached the glade and turned her head around to see where Ben was. He was running after her. 'Dammit', she thought, 'Why'd the guy have to be a bloody runner?' She say Newt come limping out of the homestead, and watched as his face paled and twisted with anger and concern. He started to run towards where she was heading, as best as he could with his limp. Out of the corner of her eye she say Minho come jogging out of the Maze at the West Door. She just kept running, just trying to get away from Ben, not really focusing on where she was going. She was just near the East Door when suddenly the wind was knocked out of her; Ben had caught up to her and had tackled her roughly to the ground. He was clawing at her with his nails as she struggled underneath him, not strong enough to remove his heavy weight. He reached into his pocket and extracted a knife. Eleanor looked at it in horror, and heard Newt screaming at Ben as he ran towards the struggling pair. Ben grabbed her, and dragged her along, towards the door, slashing at her struggling limbs with the knife whenever she tried to get away from him. After a minute, she realised that Ben had dragged her into the maze, past the door, and the doors where going to close at any minute. Ben stopped, kicked her harshly in the side, making her scream in pain, and then began walking back towards the door. He shouted in a harsh voice; "Greenie's gonna die hahaha! The new Greenie will die!" He laughed crazily, and walked back towards the door, where Newt was fast approaching, running as fast as his limp would allow. Then, Eleanor's heart stopped as the now familiar sound of the closing doors sounded throughout the Glade. Ben froze; he was standing right where the doors would close together. Eleanor began to crawl towards the doors, desperate to get out before they closed. Newt was still running, looking as though he was going to run into the Maze, but Alby appeared out of nowhere and tackled him to the ground, yelling "You can't go in there, no one goes in the Maze" "NO! BUT ELEANOR'S OUT THERE! YOU CAN'T JUST LEAVE HER, I'VE GOT TO GET HER!" Newt roared back, struggling to escape Alby's grasp. Eleanor was still crawling towards the doors, when suddenly, they closed with a loud boom, Ben still standing exactly where they collided, now squashed. A spray of blood flew from the doors, and some landed on Eleanor's face. She wiped it off quickly, and turned around. She was stuck in the maze with the doors closed, and no one survived the night. She could hear newt yelling, swearing and sobbing from the other side of the door. "Well, may as well run", she muttered, as she set off down the first corridor of the maze. That's when she heard it; the same sound she had heard the night of the party; the grievers. And she ran. She ran the entire night, at one point coming face to face with a griever and escaping narrowly, but severely injured. She could just see the sun creeping up, and knew that meant that the doors would open soon. She began to run back towards the doors, and just as they came into sight, another griever rounded the corner. It roared, and she let out a loud, terrified scream as it began tearing towards her. She could faintly hear Newt yelling, still at the doors to the maze. The griever tackled her to the ground, cutting and slicing her, and she was fighting as best as she could, but she knew that she would not survive this; after all, no one survived the night. Suddenly, she heard the sound of the doors opening, and as though summoned, the griever stopped attacking her. She could hear Newt's yells as he entered the Maze, obviously looking for her. The griever hurried away down a corridor of the maze just as Newt rounded the corner, his face pale white, and his eyes bloodshot, trained on the retreating beast. As the griever hurried out of sight, he looked down, and the look in his eyes as he say Eleanor was indescribable. He was horrified, and he sobbed once, before kneeling down next to her and lifted her exhausted body into his lap, hugging hr tight to his chest as he sobbed again. "Bloody hell, Eleanor, I thought I lost you", "Shuck, I can't believe you survived the night!" "Oh my god, oh my shucking god, are you alright?" Eleanor used the last of her strength to smile, wincing at even the small movement, and causing Newt to hold her tighter, "What, were you worried about me?" And then the world went dark.

Eleanor wakes up to the sound of voices, and stirs slightly. The voice she recognises as Newt's says "You better go, I can handle her, don't worry" The other person leaves the room, the door creaking closed behind them. Eleanor's eyes flutter open and she sees that she's in the same room that she woke up in on her first day in the glade. "Hey," Newt greets her. She looks over at him and sees that he is deathly pale, with huge bags under his eyes form evident lack of sleep, and he's filthy, wearing the same clothes as he was when Ben attacked her. "You look like shit, Newt" she tells him simply, struggling to sit up. Newt chuckles, saying "Nice to see you too, shuck-face. Nice to see you haven't lost your sharp wit and sass" They both chuckle slightly and then Eleanor asks quietly, "What happened, Newt?" His face visibly pales and his expression darkens, "You um, well you survived a night in the bloody maze, don't know how the shuck you did that." He turns to look at Eleanor and she can see his eyes moistening as he continues, "Anyway, the doors opened the next day and I ran in to see if I could find you, and you were just around the corner from the door. Um, well, the med-jacks cleaned you up as best as they could but well," He gestures to her body, and she looks down to see what he means, lifting her arms to get a better look at them. A flash of pain shoots up Eleanor's arm and she looks down. Both of her arms are covered in cuts, grazes and bruises, but on her left arm is a deep gash, running from just above her wrist all the way to her elbow. "Shit" she mutters, and looks back up at Newt, who looks as though he's going to cry. "Hey, I'm alive, aren't I?" she tells him softly. "Yeah," Newt sighs, "But when those doors closed, I thought I'd lost you, I thought you were gone." He looks straight into her eyes, "And then I saw you and you had a shucking griever on top of you and I thought you were gonna die right in front of me" He lets one tear fall, and asks softly "Eleanor, what happened out there?" She's the one visibly paling now, and she replies quietly, telling him what had happened in the maze. When she finishes, she looks up at him to see tears falling freely now down his face. "I can't believe you survived" he tells her, looking straight at her. "Well, I'm one tough cookie" Eleanor responds, and as Newt chuckles softly, his tears stopping, Eleanor pulls him into a hug, saying "What, would you miss me?" in an attempt to lighten the mood, not expecting the response Newt gives her, a light chuckle as he wraps his arms around her tightly and says "Shuck yeah, don't know if I could do this without you here" Eleanor opens her mouth to respond, but at that moment, Minho bursts through the door. "Well looks like I've interrupted a shuck funeral or somethin" Newt and Eleanor break apart, both laughing lightly, and Minho sits down on Eleanor's bed. "Seriously though, I'm glad you're alive, slinthead." Minho says sincerely to Eleanor. "Now this shuck-face," he points to Newt, "Can get back to work. Hasn't done anything since the Ben-incident" Eleanor looks over at Minho questioningly and he continues; "Stayed outside the doors all night, and then sprinted in there first thing in the morning. Hasn't left you alone since, the med-jacks are right shucked at him, coz they didn't want to clean you up with him here" Minho chuckles lightly, but looks at Newt seriously, as though asking him with expression why he did that, and then looks again to Eleanor, relief, stress and sadness etched onto every line of his face, and pulls her into a hug "Glad to see you didn't die out there, Greenie." He holds her tightly and only releases her when Newt shifts in his chair, obviously uncomfortable. "What happened out there, Ell?" Minho asks her softly, any traces of humour leaving his voice. Eleanor explains for the second time what happened during her night in the maze, and when she finished once again looks at Minho for his reaction. His eyes are swimming with tears, and he looks terrified, relieved and concerned at the same time. He hugs her again and then settles down on the bed, crossed-legged and the three of them begin talking. They talk for hours, until the sun goes down and the doors close, and the three head down to the hammocks to get some sleep. Minho tells Eleanor "You know, you should be a runner" and when she looks at him sceptically he adds "Well we do need a new one, and you were shucking lightning when you ran across the Glade. Plus, you've already been into the Maze and you would've had to be running damn fast to survive out there. I'll talk to Alby, let him know" Eleanor is strangely excited at this new prospect, and replies "Yes! Then I could be cool like Minho!" Giggling, she punches his arm playfully and starts to walk away with Newt, as Minho heads to the map room, calling out after her "Good to know you haven't lost you sass" She chuckles and reaches Newt, who had been fairly quite ever since Minho had come in. She looks up at his face to see him frowning, looking frustrated and thoroughly pissed off. "What's up with you, cranky-bum?" She asks lightly. "Nothing," Newt sighs, his anger visibly easing slightly. "Just stressed. Are you tired? You must be exhausted" "Nah, I got my fair share of rest in the homestead" Eleanor replies, and then remembers something Minho had said "How long was I out for?" she asks Newt, who replies "Almost 3 days" Eleanor slows down and looks at Newt, "So you mean to say that you wouldn't leave me alone for 3 whole days?" Eleanor asks sceptically, but what Minho had said was confirmed when Newt flushed slightly and smiled sheepishly at her, saying "Well in my defence..." Eleanor laughs, and Newt adds quietly "I didn't know if you'd wake up, but I wanted to know straight away if…anything happened" He looks up at her and smiles sadly, pulling her closer to him and slinging an arm around her shoulder. Eleanor is slightly speechless, she didn't know Newt cared that much about her. They reach the sleep quarters and pause, and Eleanor asks, "You tired?" and when Newt shakes his head no, she says "Well come on then," and heads off towards the tower, pulling Newt along with her. They climb to the top and sit down against the wooden frame, him with his arm around her waist. They talk and joke about anything and everything for a few hours, and then fall asleep. Her head rests in the crook of his neck, his arms hugging her around the waist holding her to him, as she snuggles into him.


	5. Chapter 4

**chapter 4**

A few weeks have passed since what the Gladers now referred to as 'the Ben incident', and Eleanor has become a runner. After nearly 4 weeks of training, she had been given a pack and pronounced an official runner. Her section was eight, with Minho. She had grown even closer to the sarcastic, funny kid after the hours upon hours spent training, running and revising Maps. She still say Newt constantly though, and they were as close as ever, though he grew angry and snappy whenever Minho was around or when she was with him. Almost every night, Eleanor and Newt escaped up to the tower for some peace and quiet, and to talk. Every now and then, they'd fall asleep up there, talking. Just 2 weeks after Eleanor became a runner, the box alarm went off. All the gladers ran over to the box and crowded around. Alby jumped down into the box and Eleanor, standing in between Newt and Minho, heard him saying "Welcome to the Glade, Greenbean, you'll shucking love it here" The new Greenie was called Thomas, and he was muscular, with brown hair and light brown eyes. The next day, Eleanor was given the job of showing Thomas around. She walked over to where he was sitting against a tree, and said "Hey Tom, I'm Eleanor" smiling at him "I'll show you around the Glade" He smiled back at her, and got up, following her around for the day and asking a ton of questions. At one point, Eleanor saw Newt and Minho leaning against the homestead, Minho glancing from Thomas and Eleanor to Newt, smiling and giggling every second or so, while Newt glared in Thomas' direction. Thomas noticed and asked her; "What's up with those guys, that one looks like he wants to kill something" Eleanor laughed, "Nah, those are my friends, they're cool. Dunno why Newt looks so ticked off though" After showing Thomas around the Glade, Eleanor walked back with him to lunch, meeting Newt and Minho on the way. "What's got your knickers in a twist guys?" Eleanor questions, but all she gets in reply is a grunted "Nothing" from Newt and giggling and winking from Minho. She shrugs it off and they all sit down to lunch. Minho still smiling slightly and Newt glaring at Thomas from across the table.

The next week, Eleanor and Minho head out for a quick run after lunch, before the doors close, just going around the more basic corridors around the East Door. They run back out, laughing wildly, Eleanor on Minho's back yelling "Run, boy, run!" They collapse in the middle of the Glade, rolling around laughing. Newt, leaning against the homestead, looks over at them, glaring in their direction. Thomas, who Eleanor had become quite close with over the past week, is nearby as well, looking both angry and disappointed. That night, Newt and Eleanor are up in the tower again, and Newt's clearly pissed off about something. "Come on Newty, you can tell mee!" Eleanor whines, leaning in towards him in her efforts to make him tell her what is wrong. "No, El, its fine, I'm fine" Newt replies for the third time, but when she persists, he finally gives in; "It's just, you're spending so much time with Minho and Thomas, I barely get to see you anymore" He lets out. Eleanor frowns, looking up at him "You know, I spend a lot of time with you as well" and when Newt sighs and opens his mouth to carry on, Eleanor stops him; "But I know that I don't get to see you as much anymore, I miss it too" she smiles at him, and he calms down, pulling her into his arms and settling down next to her, while she snuggles into him. Below, they hear a twig snap, and the sound of someone walking away. They choose to ignore it, and talk for a while longer before falling asleep.

The next morning, Eleanor is at breakfast with Minho, Thomas and Newt when Winston walks past, stopping to talk to them "Hey, Eleanor, where were you last night?" and when Eleanor replies "Up on the tower, why?" Winston smirks and asks Newt the same question, to which he replies "Up on the tower, talking with Eleanor, why are you asking?" Winston's smirk grows even wider as he glances at Minho, who is smiling widely and looks as though Christmas has come early, and Thomas, who is clutching his cutlery rather strongly "Just wondering" but then he smiles cheekily and adds, "And I saw you two cuddling by the way, very cute, very cute" At this, Minho chokes on his food, and then bursts into laughter, and Thomas gags slightly on his water. Winston winked and walked off, leaving Newt slightly flushed and Eleanor flustered, as Minho nearly fell off his chair from laughing too much and Thomas had a murderous expression on his face. "Wait, that's where you go every night?" Thomas questioned Eleanor, and didn't look too pleased with her answering "Yeah, why is that such a big deal?" "And when you don't come back to you hammock, I suppose you've fallen asleep up there with him?" His voice slightly raised, Thomas jerks a finger at Newt, who was looks at him defiantly. "You know she can do what she wants, Thomas" Newt says to the boy stiffly. Thomas is glaring daggers at Newt, and when he opens his mouth to retort, Eleanor buts in "Well this is all lovely and everything, but I'm going into the Maze" and when Minho simply sits there smiling widely and giggling uncontrollably, she adds "Come on Minho, we're gonna be running late soon. I know you don't want to miss out on the friendship braid-train over here, but we gotta go" Minho giggles again and nods, walking ahead of Eleanor and practically skipping towards the storage room to collect the supplies. Thomas gets up stiffly, still glaring at Newt, and walks off towards the deadheads. Eleanor looks at Newt, saying "What the shuck just happened?" He laughs uneasily, obviously still riled and shocked by Thomas' behaviour and replies "I dunno, but it must be bad if you're using Glader curses" He smirks at her and she chuckles, as he says mockingly "I'm gonna kill Winston" Eleanor smiles at him and walks off after Minho.

After a long day of fast-paced running, Minho and Eleanor jog back into the Glade, both chuckling slightly. As they slow to a walk and head towards the map room, Minho says, a bit too casually; "So you and Newty talk and cuddle every night do you?" Eleanor turns around to look at him, walking backwards "It's not that big of a deal, you know" Minho chuckles and states "Well Tommy sure as shuck didn't seem to like it" "Yeah, what was up with that? He totally freaked out at Newt!" Eleanor exclaims, hoping Minho knows what the hell actually happened. "Well I think little Tommy has a huge crush on sassy old you" Minho says, quite loudly through his smirk, which is plastered on his face. "What! No way! Nahh Minho, you've gone round the bend!" Eleanor responds, laughing. "Ahh we're talking about how crazy Minho is, my favourite topic of conversation!" A sarcastic voice comes from behind Eleanor-Newt.

Eleanor continues to walk backwards, and Newt catches her just as she reaches him. She turns around and flicks his nose, looking at him yet addressing Minho, "Tell him your theory, shuck face" She pulls back slightly from Newt to see his reaction, as Minho tells him "I think Tommy is crushing on your El, man" Eleanor glances back to Minho, confused at his suddenly serious tone and choice of words, addressing her as if she's Newt's property, and looks back at Newt. He didn't look too surprised, but his eyebrows were still knit closely together and he was scowling, not looking at all pleased with this information. "Hmm" he practically growls, "Yeah, I thought that may have been a possibility" he adds to Minho who nods solemnly and asks Newt, "So what are we gonna do about it?" Eleanor raises her eyebrows at Newt, then turns around to face Minho "What do you mean, 'what are we gonna do about it'?" she asks "Well, we can't have little Tommy crushing on you now, can we?" Minho informs her. She spins around to face Newt again, surprised at the serious expressions on both the boys faces. "Guys, he does not like me!" she exclaims, but this is only met by sceptical looks from both Newt and Minho, and adds "And so what if he does like me, it's not that big of a deal!" Newt scoffs, seemingly unbelieving, and Minho just looks at her, aghast. "Are you shucking me?" Minho exclaims, "That slinthead cannot just come in here and start crushing on you!" Newt nods in agreement, the adds "And what if he makes a move on you, El" Eleanor looks back at Newt, who is looking as though he's about to punch something and says "Well, then I'll tell him to stop shucking around and that I just wanna be friends with him" She looks up at Newt, and puts her hand on his arm, opening her mouth to add something to calm him down when Minho interrupts; "Wait, wait, wait, hold on. If he makes a move on you, you'll still be friends with his shuck-ass?" He asks, looking at her as if she's just announced she found a way out of the maze. "Well yeah" Eleanor looks up at Newt and around at Minho, who both look disgruntled at this announcement, so Eleanor adds "Hey! It wouldn't be his fault if he has a crush on me and makes a move, doesn't mean he's a bad person!" She looks, disbelieving between Newt and Minho, who were sharing a glance that seemed to say 'She doesn't know shuck' Newt sighs and slings an arm around Eleanor and says simply; "El, you don't know nothing about blokes, do ya?" and laughs lightly as Eleanor responds with "Well I'd like to think I do, living with at least 50 of the buggers and being best friends with two of you shuck-faces" She heard a bark of laughter form Minho, who had caught up to the pair and was walking alongside them. "You see, young sass-master," Minho says "When a guy fancies a chickadee, he will not stop coming on to her, flirting with her, etc. until she agrees to go out with his shuck-ass" His gaze shifts to Newt for just a second, so fast that Eleanor wasn't quite sure that she had even seen it. "Well, shuck me, I don't know a bloody thing about blokes then. Now let's get these maps done, I'm dead" Eleanor pronounced, glancing up at Newt and sharing a small smirk with him. Minho replied, suddenly cheerful "Nah, you guys can go, I'll finish off the maps" His smirk is practically reaching his eyes now, and he is almost shaking with withheld laughter, and simply waves them off when Eleanor protests, insisting that she help, as though if he opens his mouth he won't be able to stop the laughter so plainly bottled up inside him.

Newt and Eleanor walk off towards the tower, his arm still draped over her shoulders, talking and laughing. They climb up, and sit down in their usual spot, but as soon as they settle down, Newt turns serious. "Eleanor, I'm not shucking around, Thomas obviously has a crush on you, and I don't like it" Eleanor frowns, "Why? It's not like anything's gonna happen, even if he does like me" For some reason, Newt looks slightly relieved, and pulls her close to him, wrapping his arms around her waist to keep her there, and she rests her head on his chest. "So you don't fancy him then?" he asks her. Her head jerks upwards and her eyes narrow, looking at Newt's feigned innocent face and saying carefully "No" She lays her head back on his chest as his posture relaxes. Eleanor's just drifting off to sleep when Newt whispers "Good" and squeezes her even closer to him. She hugs him tighter in response and they both fall asleep.

The one thing that still made Eleanor uncomfortable in the Glade was Gally. The kid took any chance he could to flirt with her, but insulting her at the same time. That morning at breakfast, he had grabbed her hand when she was walking with Minho to her table. She had yanked her hand out of his firm grip immediately and looked up to see him smirking at her, before Minho had pulled her away. "You gotta tell Newt" Minho had said, him being the only person she had told about Gally's behaviour. "No way! Eleanor had exclaimed, "He'll totally flip out. You saw how he got with Thomas" Minho smirked, asking her "Why do you think that is, huh?" "I dunno, we're friends, you didn't seem too overjoyed about that either" Eleanor had answered him. Minho had just laughed, and ran off, her following him deeper into the maze.

A week or so after her talk with Newt and Minho about Thomas, Eleanor was just heading out of the map room, heading to dinner with Minho following a few meters behind when Gally appeared. He grasped her wrist tightly and she gasped, looking behind her to see where Minho was. He wasn't there, he must have gone back to the Map Room for something. She saw Newt over at the homestead, but he was talking to Alby, and couldn't see her. She looked back at Gally, who had closed the short distance between them whilst she was looking for help and was lifting up a strand of her hair. "You know, you really shouldn't have rejected me, sweetheart" he said, chuckling deeply. "Don't call me that, you klunk" She spat back at him. His fingers dug into the skin on her cheek and his other hand grasped her upper arm in a vice-like grip as he tut-tutted and said "Now, you really shouldn't have done that" The hand which had been scratching her cheek, which was now dripping blood, reared back and came back on her face in a loud slap, which echoed throughout the Glade and made her spin backwards, leaving her in a heap on the ground. She could hear running footsteps as Gladers came running to help her. Gally kicked her harshly, making her roll a few meters with the force behind the kick as she cried out in pain. "They're all coming to save their lovely princess Eleanor now, aren't they sweetheart" he questioned her mockingly. When she simply groaned and muttered a few words in response, he punched her in the stomach, yelling "What was that lovely? Answer me!" Eleanor looked up, wincing at the movement and spat in his face, saying louder this time; "I rejected you for a reason, you klunk-head – you disgust me" He muttered darkly, "Oh, now you're gonna get it", and he swung his arm back, clenching his hand into a fist. Bracing herself for the pain, Eleanor had squinted her eyes shut and clenched her muscles. But no punch came. Instead, she heard a thump as two bodies collided above her, pushing Gally off of her. She opened her eyes and saw Newt, straddling Gally, raining punch after punch down on him, screaming "DON'T YOU EVER TOUCH HER AGAIN!" "NEVER" Gally suddenly pushed Newt away from him, punching him right in the eye, screaming in rage. "Get off him!" Eleanor screamed "Newt! Stop it, stop it, GET OFF HIM!" Gally turned his attention back to Eleanor and Newt took that moment to punch him in the stomach, "Oh, no you don't, stay away from her" he yelled, once again pummelling Gally, his knuckles now bloody and bruised. Eleanor went to reach out to him, but someone grabbed her hand in a tight grip. She spun around to face Minho, who grabbed her around the waist and pulled her away from the two fighting boys. The rest of the Gladers eventually pulled Newt off of Gally, who was covered in blood. Thomas had raced forward and pulled Gally roughly to his feet, shoving him away towards the Slammer. Minho wouldn't let Eleanor go, so instead of struggling, she turned around and wracked dry sobs into his chest. She heard loud shouts coming from behind her and turned around to see Newt screaming at Alby "What? You're just gonna sit him in the slammer for a few days, wait til he calms down?! Didn't you see what he did to her? Huh? He should be bloody banished" Newt glared at Alby, a mixture of his and Gally's blood all over him, his face covered in cuts, bruises and blood. He turned and stormed off in the direction of the homestead. Eleanor freed herself of Minho's grasp and ran after him, pausing when Thomas, who had come back from the Slammer, stood in her way, asking if she was ok "Just let me talk to him, Tom" she said quietly before slipping around him and continuing after Newt. She found him in the entrance of the homestead, pacing back and forth, still fuming. He looked up as she entered and his face softened "El, are you ok?" he asked softly, stepping towards her. "Med-room, now" she ordered, pushing him lightly towards said room. He obliged, and reluctantly turned around and walked into the room. H e stood there, staring at her defiantly, until she pushed him onto the bed, when he sighed and looked up at her, reluctantly expectant. She started to clean his cuts, her face tainted with concern and worry. Finally, she spoke "You know, you didn't have to beat him up like that" Newt sighed "El, he hurt you" he looked up at her, as if pleading her to understand that that was reason enough. "And from what the both of you were shouting, it wasn't the first time he'd approached you" He frowns up at her and asks, "Why didn't you tell anyone?" She looks at him, avoiding his eye and dabbing at wounds as she speaks "I told Minho, it's not like I didn't tell **anyone**" His frown deepens and he pulls her hand away, raising his voice and saying "You told Minho but you wouldn't tell me?" She looks at him, surprised at his reaction as she tells him "Well I didn't want you to worry, you already have enough to think about" He grabs her hand and says "It's my job to worry, not Minho's" Eleanor laughs, the sound devoid of humour "And what do you mean by that?" "I mean," Newt says, his voice strained, dropping to just slightly louder than normal speaking volume, "That I should be the one to worry about you, not anyone else." "What so now I'm yours to worry about am I?" Eleanor asks him, her voice raising. "Yes, your bloody mine to worry about! Don't you see?" Newt practically yells at her. "No Newt, I don't shucking see" Eleanor yells back at him, "Because last I checked, you have not exactly claimed me as 'yours to worry about'" Newt stands up, his face now a few inches away from Eleanor's, and says heatedly "Your mine to worry about because you are mine!" Eleanor stands her ground, and shouts back "And since when have I been yours, huh? Since when, because you have not shucking claimed me as yours!" Newt throws his hands up and yells at her "Since, uh. You're just mine, alright?!" "Why am I yours Newt? Why? I just** am**?" Newt looks her in the eyes and yells "Your mine because I care about you ok?" He steps forward "Your mine to worry about because I worry about you every bloody second you spend in the shucking maze." He steps in again, his face now no more than inches away from hers "Because sometimes I worry about you and Minho! Because I worry about you constantly," His nose is almost touching hers now "Don't you see, Eleanor, I care about you!" "Well then why don't you fucking claim me already, Newt? Why don't you do something?" He leans in slowly, his lips centimetres away from hers, and breathes "Maybe I will" He kisses her, and she kisses back, all of their emotions seeping into this one kiss. His arms wrap around her waist, pulling her against him, her arms circle around his neck, one running into his hair. His lips are warm and soft, and fit against hers like they are made for her. His grip on her waist tightens as the kiss grows deeper, all of their pent up emotions and frustrations being released. He pulls away slightly, leaning his forehead against hers and whispering, "Bloody hell, I've wanted to do that for so long now" He kisses her again, this one just as amazing as the first and when they pull away again she breathes "Then why didn't you?" Newt looks at her again, waiting for her reaction of what he's about to say "I didn't think you'd want me to" Eleanor leans in even closer to him and tells him "Well I shucking did want you to, slinthead" Newt kisses her again, and she can feel his smile against her lips. "So does that mean you're mine now?" He asks her, his lips still brushing hers "Well do you want me to be yours after that?" She bites her lip slightly, looking up at him. "Oh course I do, El" Newt responds, pecking her lips softly as though to prove his point, "The real question is, do you want to be mine?" Their eyes connect, and neither looks away "Of course I wanna be yours, you shuck-face" He hugs her to him and kisses her again, mumbling against her lips "Good, you're mine now" She laughs into the kiss and pulls away, looking at him and says, matter-or-factly "You know, you're still a bit of a mess" Newt frowns and tells her "So are you, are you ok? He got you pretty hard" He brings his hand up and wipes some blood off of her face, brushing softly against the large purple bruise which had already formed on her cheek. She looks down at herself, then at Newt and says "I'm fine" When he just frowns down at her again, she just pushes him back down onto the bed, picking up another cloth, and starts to dab at his wounds once again. They talk for half an hour, as she cleans him up, and then they walk outside to head to the tower. They find Minho pacing in the entrance to the homestead, biting his nails. He looks up when they approach "Well, it took you long enough, ya slintheads" He holds his arms out for a hug, and Eleanor shoots Newt a wink, before running and jumping into Minho's arms. He hugs her, lifting her off the ground and putting her back down, and looking at Newt "Didn't know you had it in ya, buddy" He jerks his finger over his shoulder and tells them "Gally's in much worse shape than you are, the med-jacks are pretty pissed at you," he chuckles and adds "Shuck deserve everything he got. You know, his face is so smashed up you can't even tell it's him? You got him good, Newty" Minho looks down at Eleanor and his almost proud expression turns concerned and serious "Shuck, Gally got you though, didn't he sass?" Eleanor frowns at Minho, saying "Eh, I could've handled him" She glances back at Newt and winks at him again, then turns to face Minh, who was chuckling, and says defensively; "Hey, I could've, I had him right where I wanted him" She mimes punching Minho in the chest, and he just laughs again and pushes her away "Nah, you're lucky old Newty saved the day" His face is serious again, and Eleanor turns around to face Newt and says softly, "Yeah, I know" Newt winks at her and strolls out the door, and when the other two don't follow, he calls back "Well, you coming, shuck-faces?" They both laugh and follow him out the door, and they walk down to dinner, talking and laughing. Minho goes ahead and Newt pulls on Eleanor's hand, tugging her towards him. She smiles and walks back to him. Just before she reaches him, Thomas comes jogging up to them. Newt smile fades into a frown as Eleanor steps back slightly and looks at him sharply. "Hey, Eleanor, I've been looking for you everywhere!" Thomas tells her, looking at her but determinedly not at Newt and continuing "I wanted to talk to you- are you ok?" Eleanor glances at Newt, and then looks at Thomas and says "Sorry Tom, but could we talk tomorrow? I'm just really tired right now" He looks disappointed, but just nods and says understandingly; "Yeah, sure. That's fine, I'll see you tomorrow then" Then smiles at Eleanor and walks off. As soon as he's out of sight, Eleanor grimaces and turns around to face Newt, who is still frowning. "Hey, he didn't actually say anything!" Eleanor tells Newt, but he just pulls her towards him and wraps an arm around her waist, walking towards the tower. They've reached the tower before he answers her earlier statement "Yeah, but what's he gonna say tomorrow, huh?" Eleanor spins around to face him, leaning against the frame of the tower "I dunno, but it doesn't matter what he says tomorrow" Newt's frown deepens and he says "But what if he makes a move on you?" It's Eleanor's turn to frown now as she responds "Then it won't matter!" She waits for him to catch up, and his hands find her waist as hers sling themselves around his neck and she says "It won't matter because, just like you said, I'm yours, Newt" He looks down at her, obviously still concerned "I know, but that won't stop him" Eleanor looks at him and says "Well then, I'll stop him. I'm only yours, Newt" He smiled slightly and leaned his forehead against hers, murmuring "I like the sound of that" Eleanor laughs and replies "Yeah, has a nice ring to it doesn't it?" He chuckles and kisses her lightly. She leans back against the tower and looks up at him, her arms still around his neck "You don't have anything to worry about, you know" He smiles and comes forward until he's nearly pressing her against the tower "Yeah, I know; you just can't resist my charm" He kisses her again, both of them laughing into the kiss. Once they break away, she leans her head on his shoulder and continues laughing, "No, no, no, it's you who can't resist my sass and good looks" They stand like that, Newt's arms around Eleanor's waist, her own draped around his neck, her head resting on his shoulder as they both laughed, and then climbed up to the tower. He sat down and pulled her down next to him, his arms once again finding her waist and her head dropping onto his shoulder again, her legs slung over his lap. He looks down at her and says "You know, I still don't like you being alone and talking with Thomas" She lifts her head to look at him and frowns, saying "Tom's fine, Newt. He's probably just gonna ask me something about the Glade or some other klunk like that" Newt looks sceptical and says "Even if he doesn't say anything, he definitely fancies you, El" She kisses him lightly and tells him "Even if he does, you still have absolutely nothing to worry about, Newt!" "Yeah, I know, I know" he replies, kissing her again. Her head falls back onto his shoulder, and they drift off to sleep.


	6. Chapter 5

**chapter 5**

The next morning, Eleanor and Newt head down to breakfast the next morning, walking towards Minho, who was standing off to the side, looking at something. Eleanor ran up to him and hugged him, teasing "Aww, why is bubby Minho all sad?" with a fake sad face on her face, looking up at his serious face. Eleanor steps back, next to Newt when he doesn't laugh or reply and Newt asks "Minho, what's up? Seriously?" Minho just nodded stiffly in the direction of a table. Eleanor and Net followed his gaze and both gasped slightly; Gally was sitting at a table a few meters away; his face so badly scared and bruised he was hardly recognisable. Newt's hand moved reflexively towards Eleanor, wrapping it protectively around her waist. "What's he doing here?" Newt growls, glaring at Gally. "Alby decided to let him out of the slammer for meals as a trial" Minho replies stiffly, still glaring at Gally. Newt frowns down at Eleanor, and she tells him absentmindedly; "It's alright, it's not like he can even get near me again, he'll be in the slammer most of the time" When Newt just continues to frown at her, she pulls herself back to earth "Come one, may as well eat. I can't run on an empty stomach" She pulls Newt away, and Minho follows reluctantly, still glaring daggers at Gally. Newt goes to talk to Alby about Gally, ignoring Eleanor's protests to 'just let the guy be!' and Eleanor and Minho go and get some food. They sit down, and Minho is missing his mouth with his fork from concentrating on Gally. "You know, if the wind changes, your face will be stuck like that, and you don't want to look constipated for the rest of your life, do you?" Eleanor informs Minho, who had dropped his fork for the third time. He scowls at her, "Well there is that saying you know; that looks can kill. Just trying my luck" He winks at her, glances at Gally once more and then focuses on his food; shovelling it into his mouth. Thomas slides in next to Eleanor and leans in close to ask her "Are you alright?" He looks at her, brows furrowed, obviously concerned and she replies "Yeah I'm fine, he wouldn't be able to get anywhere near me if he tried" When he still looks at her, as though searching her face for signs that she's about to drop down dead, she adds "Hey, lighten up will you? What was it you wanted to talk to me about last night?" This seems to snap him out of his trance, and he takes a bite of food before leaning in close again and asking her "Do you still go up to the tower with Newt at night?" She's startled by the bizarre question, and eyes her suspiciously, answering "Yeah, why?" He looks her in the eye and says "Well, I was just worried; I don't want another Gally incident happening at night when no one's around" She looks up from her food, bewildered and tells him sharply "Tom, I trust Newt, he's not like that at all! He would never hurt me" He frowns at her "How do you know? I think he likes you" She nudges him, attempting to lighten the awkward situation, and jokes "Aww, is Tommy worried about me?" She winks at him. "Yeah, Tommy is!" He replies, but she can tell he's only half joking. She opens her mouth to change the subject further when Newt slides in on her other side, looking hardly at Thomas and pulling Eleanor slightly closer to him, his hand resting on her leg. Eleanor rolls her eyes at him, and looks across the table to Minho, who had abandoned his food and appeared to have been watching the entire affair as though it was a soap drama. She quirked an eyebrow at him, and he winked, giggling softly, then saying "Hey Eleanor, I think we should go, the Maze is awaiting" He gets up and waits for her to follow, watching both Newt and Thomas closely. She sighs, saying goodbye to Thomas, who got up after her and walked towards the garden, and then turning to Newt, who opened his mouth to say something, a scowl plastered across his face "Newt" she interrupts before he can even start, and he looks up at her "Later, ok!" He glances up at her, and then a mischievous smile erupts over his face. He pulls her back onto the chair and into a tight hug, his arms resting on her waist, and kisses her cheek, before letting her go. She looks at him, thoroughly confused, and he winks at her, and then glances over her shoulder, fast enough to make Eleanor wonder if she'd seen it. She glanced over her shoulder as well, and saw Thomas looking, eyes wide yet full of anger, focused on her and Newt. She whips around to face Newt, and glares at him sharply, but he just winks, pulling himself up after her, slinging an arm around her shoulders, not recoiling from the harsh stare she was sending his way, and pulled her after him, heading to the runner's shack. Minho laughed loudly, his voice ringing with mischief, and went ahead of them. As soon as he was out of earshot, Newt pulled her closer to him, whispering in her ear "Sorry love, but he had to know you're mine" She looked up at him "It's impossible to believe that you can still speak through that smirk" He just laughed. They reached the runner's shack to find Minho whistling, holding two runners packs, looking slightly too casual. They said goodbye to Newt, and ran across the glade and into the maze.

After a few hours of running, Minho called for a break, and they stopped for an apple and some water. They talk for a while, and then Minho says deviously "So what was Newt talking about, you being his, huh?" He smirks at her, and she narrows her eyes at him "I knew you were listening to that!" His smirk just widens, and he asks again "Yeah, I was. So what did that mean then?" Eleanor looks at the ground, and replies with an honest "I don't know" Minho frowns, obviously not having received the answer he had been hoping for "What do you mean, 'you don't know'? It's about you!" She sighs, pulling at the ends of her hair "I honestly just don't know." She looks up at him "He gets really protective, and doesn't like it when I talk to Tom, or really anyone for that matter. When he found out I told you about Gally and not him" Minho winces, but Eleanor ignores it, continuing "He totally freaked out, and kept saying stuff like 'you're mine to worry about, not Minho's'" She said, in a way too deep imitation of Newt's voice. Minho laughs lightly, but is still interested in what she's saying "And we had a huge fight, screaming at each other, and I kept asking him what it means and he said some…stuff" She glances away slightly as Minho smiles gleefully, and then continues, fixedly looking at the wall across from them "And then we kissed" Her eyes flicker back to Minho, who is holding in laughter she smiles at him "Oh go on, laugh. I don't care" And he does just that, laughing and pulling her into a hug "Ahhh, finally. I've been waiting for you guys to get together ever since you arrived!" "Well, I don't even know if we're that. He gets super annoyed at people for talking to me and everything, and he told me how he feels, but he hasn't actually…I dunno, he just never really does anything around people or anything, and he hasn't exactly told anyone." Minho holds her away from him, at arms-length, looking shocked "So the shank kisses you (once)?" He shakes her head, looking away again slightly, and he raises his eyebrows, mockingly approving, and continues "So the shank kisses you (multiple times, good for you sass)" she rolls her eyes "Tells you your 'his', doesn't like it when you talk to other blokes (which is all you can do living in a place full of the nasty buggers), beats up Gally, hates Thomas, and feels he has to 'claim you as his when little Tommy gets too close, but won't actually tell anyone, make it official or do anything in public?" Eleanor looks at him, wide-eyed. She hadn't thought about it that way yet "Whoa" she breathes "That sounds way worse than I pictured it as" Minho nods, brows furrowed as he watches her face. "Really doesn't sound good, sass. I'd say he's being a complete shuck-face" She nods absentmindedly, and then snaps back to reality "I'll worry about it later, we should start heading back though, or the door will close, and I definitely don't want to spend another night in here" He nods in agreement "Good that." They set off again, running for about an hour and a half "I think we're just gonna make it, maybe with five minutes to spare" Minho announces between huffs of breathe. Eleanor simply nods in reply, but stops suddenly when she hears the unmistakeable sounds of a griever coming from in the Maze. "Shuck, they must've come out early, runners are normally back by now" Minho breathes, him having stopped at the sound as well. Her heat nearly stops as up ahead of them, a griever comes around the corner. "Minho," she whispers "Up ahead, don't make a sound, just run around the other corner and we'll take the second route back" His eyes widen comically and he nods stiffly, before inching towards the appointed corner. The griever whirs, alerted by the slight movement "Shuck it" "RUN!" Eleanor screams, hurtling up towards Minho and pulling him after her until he gets his footing and sprints at her side down the corridor. They run for about ten minutes, never stopping or slowing in pace. They turn one of the last corners and come face to face with a griever. Minho skids to a stop, but Eleanor just slows slightly, yelling at him "Come on, just get past it!" She runs at the griever, Minho snapping out of his trance as he sprints alongside her. The griever rears back slightly, extending some of its mechanical arms. Eleanor sees an opening, and glances back at Minho, motioning for them to run through it. They duck underneath the arm, a sharp blade just catching Minho's back, and he grunts as blood seeps onto his shirt. They run, as fast as is humanly possible, towards to doors, where they can hear shouts. Eleanor hears Newt's voice roaring "NO ALBY! LET ME GO! YOU CAN'T LEAVE HER OUT THER AGAIN! SHE WON'T SURVIVE. LET ME GOO!" Eleanor looks over her shoulder and sees the griever, gaining on them. They turn the last corner, and the griever doesn't look like it's going to stop. She suddenly has an idea, THE IVY! She glances at Minho, and huffs out the plan. They both climb up the ivy, in a diagonal line, heading towards the doors, where Newt is struggling against Alby, Winston and Clint, whilst Thomas is being restrained by Jeff. They're both yelling, Newt with tears rolling down his face, roaring and almost breaking free from his three captors, who re-double their efforts. Then something completely un-anticipated happens; the griever begins climbing the wall after its prey. Suddenly, a sharp jab of pain flashes across Eleanor's outstretched arm, running all the way to her tailbone. She lets out a blood-chilling scream as her grip on the ivy falters, and she fell. Newt screams, breaking free of Alby, Winston and Clint's grip and racing towards the doors, but Zart tackles him to the ground again. Eleanor still falls. Suddenly, Minho is plummeting towards her, and she screams "NO MINHO DON'T" Then realises that he is holding loosely onto a vine, ready to grip it tightly and slow himself down at any minute. He reaches out and grabs at Eleanor's arm, gripping it for a few seconds before she falls from his grip again. He roars, trying to reach her, but she's already out of his reach, and he had gripped the ivy before she continued to fall, slowing his momentum down. She knows that she'll hit the ground soon, and is simply glad that Minho had slowed her fall down a bit, which would make the impact slightly less painful. She hits something solid, but she knows instantly that it's not the ground; she had hit one of the griever's outstretched mechanical arms. Almost as soon as the thought crosses her mind that she should have felt pain by now, a flash of pain shoots across her collarbone and stopping at her opposite shoulder. She screams again, thinking that she would have preferred falling to death than being sliced up by a griever. As if in response to her thought, the griever's grip loosens, and it fumbles with her body. She takes the chance to twist her body away from its arms, crying out again form the pain that shoots across her entire body from the movement. And then she's falling again. She knows it will only be a few seconds before she hits the ground. Her hair streaming round her face, she can still hear the distant screams erupting from Newt and the shouts coming from Minho above her. And then she hits the ground. She had told herself she would not scream, would not make Newt or Minho hear her screams. But she can't help it; the pain is too much. She feels like almost every bone in her body has broken, and they probably have. Her back and collarbone already hurt from the deep gashes, and when her back had hit the stone ground, the pain had multiplied by what felt like a million times. Over her screams erupting from herself, Newt and Minho, she could faintly hear the sound of the doors closing, and she knew that she was going to die. Suddenly, Minho dropped down next to her, moaning as he too hit the ground, but obviously not from the same height as Eleanor. He got up quickly, scrambling to his feet and grabbing her around the shoulders and beginning to drag her across the stone floor towards the closing doors. She screamed "NO. MINHO. LEAVE. GET OUT. YOU CAN GET OUT. GO!" He ignores her, doubling his efforts and dragging her even faster to the doors. They were now at the edge of the doors, which were just ten metres apart. He grabbed her more firmly, then spun around, picking her up by the waist and now dragging her through the closing doors. She could hear the griever roaring behind them, unable to fit through the now 5-metre gap of the doors, and Newt in the Glade, now with a pile of boys all holding him down. The pain is too much, she can't grasp onto consciousness any more, and her screams fade off as she drifts away. They're almost at the Glade now, all of the boys yelling at them to hurry, run, and move faster. Just more than a metre now before they reach the glade, but the doors are now pressing tightly against them, making it hard for Minho to drag Eleanor. He yelled, using one last ounce of energy to yank her through, pushing the two of them out into the Glade. The boys al just stood there, dumbstruck that they had actually made it. Then Newt is on Minho, trying to get to Eleanor's body. "GET AWAY NEWT!" Minho yells, "JUST GET AWAY" Alby comes up behind Newt and grabs his arm as he goes to punch Minho. "Get her to the homestead, now. Med-jacks-follow!" Alby orders softly, staring sadly at Eleanor's limp body. Minho doesn't acknowledge he spoke, just continued on his original path to the homestead.


	7. Chapter 6

**chapter 6**

The pain. It was unbearable. Eleanor could feel it coursing its way through her body. Every now and then, one of the med-jacks would touch a broken bone or deep gash, and she would thrash around on the bed. They stood back for a while, looking helplessly on as she continued to grip the sheets tightly in her fists. Then, when they noticed her grip on the sheets slipping and her eyes fogging up, they came towards her, telling her to hang on, just stay awake, don't fall asleep, hold on. She weakly shook her head, her body jerking with the movement, and allowed the waves of deep sleep wash over her.

She woke to the sounds of shuffling feet, and pressure on the bed near her feet. She slowly opened her eyes to find herself in the homestead, laying on a bed. Jeff was at her feet, wrapping a stiff plastered bandage around her broken leg. She stirred slightly, trying to get comfortable, and hissed at the pain, slumping back down to her original position. Jeff looked up, concern filling his eyes "You gave us all a shuck-good scare, you know?" He told her, still wrapping her leg gently. "What happened?" She asked him weakly, ignoring his earlier statement. "Well, you and Minho" he looked up and saw a flash of worry shoot across her face, telling her quickly "Don't worry, he's fine. We let him go yesterday" He looked back down at her leg, still gently tending to it, mumbling "Though he still hasn't left, the shank" He shook his head slightly, then continued; "Anyways, so you guys weren't back, and everyone freaked out. Newt actually nearly got in the maze, but Alby got him. So we were all waiting there 'patiently'" he looked at her, sarcasm dripping from both his words and expression, "When you came sprinting around the corner, both yelling bloody murder. Then we saw the griever, right behind you. You climbed the walls, probably trying to get away, I dunno. Then it got you, and you fell. You were nearly at the top of the ivy when it got you, so you fell at least 10 metres before Minho caught up with you. He looked like a shucking monkey man, swinging from vines, and we all thought he'd get you, but you slipped again. Then, you somehow landed yourself right on top of the shuck griever," He pointed to her collarbone and motioned to her back and she looked down at her chest, where a large gauze was wrapped around her entire chest and one of her shoulders, blood staining the material. Jeff continued; "and (no offense) we thought you were gone. Then you did this crazy wiggle thingy, and you got away from the griever, but then you fell **again**. You hit the ground this time, and shucking hard." She looked down again, and saw that her body was covered in bruises and gashes. "You broke a rib and got a nasty concussion. Then Minho jumped after you and dragged you to the door. None of us thought you were gonna make it, thought we'd have to watch you get squished by the doors, but somehow, Minho turned into a freaking super hero and hauled your ass out of there." He finished, looking up at her for her response. She looked absolutely shell-shocked, so he said "Get some rest, then maybe tomorrow we can let the loonies in to see you, but only if you sleep!" He smiled kindly at her and left the room, closing the door softly behind him. She was surprised that she was still tired; Jeff had made it sound like she had been out for days, but she soon fell asleep.

She once again woke to Jeff, this time unwrapping the gauze around her arm. "Morning" She said sleepily, and he started slightly, replying with "I was hoping you'd sleep a bit longer" She frowned and asked suspiciously "Why?" He looked at her and replied simply "Because I have to change the bandages on your chest and back, and they're gonna hurt like hell" She looked down at her now blood-soaked chest and replied "Yeah, I see what you mean," Then sighing she added "Come on then, let's get this over with" He nodded and rolled her gently onto her back, Eleanor still hissing with pain form the movement, dreading what the pain would be like if it hurt that much to roll over. "Ready?' He asked "Ready" He gently picked up the end of the now red material and pulled it gently away from her, unwrapping the first layer, then the second, and finally reaching the third and final layer, pausing before pulling even gentler. He lifted the material away from her skin, and it felt like he was pulling a layer of skin off of her. She cried out softly, not wanting to make a big fuss. He finally pulled the last of the bandage away, and Eleanor thought she could hear footsteps coming up the stairs, but when she opened her mouth to inform Jeff, he interrupted her "I just have to dis-infect it now, and this is gonna hurt even more" She nodded stiffly, bracing herself for the pain sure to come. He popped open a bottle behind her and dripped some across her back. It stung so much, making it feel like her back itself was on fire. She screamed, before biting the pillow to stop herself making any more noise. Yes, she definitely heard footsteps, getting louder now. The door was rattling, and opening, but she couldn't see who it was, due to the involuntary tears clouding her vision, and the pillow stuffed up in her face. The pain was easing, and she hissed, waiting until it stopped. "What the hell are you doing to her?" It was Newt. "Newt, slim it. I was dis-infecting the wound" Eleanor looked up at Newt as best as she could, and he knelt down next to the bed, opening his mouth to say something, a tear falling down his face, before Jeff interrupted him "Eleanor, I need to turn you over, and dis-infect the chest gash" She blinked tightly, sighing, and answering by trying to roll herself over, hissing at the pain once again. Jeff stepped forward, and helped her turn over. Once she was settled, he grabbed the bandage, and started to pull it off. When it reached just below the neck of the shirt she was wearing (the same one she had been wearing in the maze she noticed), he said quietly "Eleanor, you're going to have to take your shirt off." Eleanor was glad to see that he did not look hesitant or awkward, just wearing an exasperated expression, as if waiting for an annoyance soon to come. Sure enough, when Eleanor went to wiggle out of her shirt, Newt's hand gently held onto one of hers, halting the process. "What? You want her to take her shirt off? No way!" Jeff opened his mouth, but Eleanor interrupted him by pulling her hand gently away from Newt's grasp, telling him "Oh calm down, Newt. I do have a bra on" He frowned down at her, so she added "Seriously, what do you expect him to do? Leave that part of the cut to get infected?" He looked at her once more, pleadingly, before removing his hand, glancing at Jeff, and helping her remove her shirt. She nodded at Jeff, who grabbed a hold of the bandage again and continued unwrapping it. Once it was all gone, he popped open the bottle again, and Eleanor reached out for Newt's hand, gripping it tightly as the liquid once again made it feel like her skin was on fire. She forced herself not to scream this time, and instead hissed, biting her lip so hard she drew blood. Finally, the burning stopped and Jeff rewrapped the wound, before leaving the room quietly. Eleanor moved over on the bed, motioning for Newt to climb in with her. He shook his head, saying "No, I'll hurt you. I'll just stay here" She gave him a sceptical look, saying "I don't care, I wanna cuddle, and it's cold" When he still hesitated, she pulled him as best as she could, and he finally relented, climbing in next to her. She rested her head on his chest, and he wrapped his arms gingerly around her waist. He bent his head down, kissing her head, and she looked up at him to see tears streaming down his face. He held her tighter and whispered "I really thought you were going to die right in front of me" She squeezed him and said honestly "Yeah, I did too" She looks up at him, and feels tears running down her own face. He wiped some of her tears away and she looked down to steady herself. "Hey, I didn't though, did I?" He chuckled sadly, his voice still thick with tears. He played absently with her hair for a while, calming down "I don't think I'd be able to live without you, El" He told her sadly. She looked up at him again "Yeah, me too" then added softly "But neither of us will have to" He nodded slightly, and then lifted her chin back up, looking straight into her eyes "El," she looked into his own eyes, "Yeah?" "El I love you" he said, his voice slightly above a whisper, still looking into her eyes, searching for a reaction. She was shocked, but exuberant that he felt the same way as her, and replied "I love you too, Newt" He smiled at her, his eyes still slightly watery and tear tracks staining his face, and pulled her into him, kissing her passionately. Her hands find their way into his hair, and his wrap more tightly around her waist. The kiss deepens and Eleanor presses her body even closer against Newt's, his arms pulling her towards him, his hands grabbing her hips firmly. They break apart, leaning their foreheads against each other. He sweetly pecks her lips again, and she captures his mouth with hers again before he can pull away. The kiss deepens once again, and he rolls them over until he is hovering over her body, his lips never leaving hers. His hands lightly brush her bruised and cut up face and arms, ghosting over the area of the gash across her chest. Suddenly, they both hear loud footsteps coming up the stairs, and pause, pulling away from each other and looking at one another with equally dazed, confused and extremely frustrated expressions. The door flies open and Minho stands there walking into the room and swinging the door shut behind him, stopping short when he sees Newt on top of Eleanor. Eleanor cracks a smile, expecting him to start teasing them and telling them he knew this would happen eventually. But his expressions turns murderous as he eyes Newt, who groans amusedly and rolls off of Eleanor, covering his face with his hands and chuckling lightly, obviously unaware of the looks he was receiving from Minho and waiting just as Eleanor had for his joyous, teasing exclamations. Eleanor nudged Newt with her elbow, and he looked up at her, and then at Minho, drawing back slightly when he saw the expression on his friends face. "Minho…What's wrong?" Eleanor questions him cautiously. He ignores her and speaks to Newt instead, his voice shaking with anger "It's your fault" Eleanor and Newt share confused glances "It's all your fault, all your fault. She wouldn't be in here if it weren't for you" Eleanor's face pales at Minho's proclamation and fury, and Newt whips his head around to look at him, his face showing confusion, alert and a slight hint of anger. "Minho…what do you mean? How is any of this Newt's fault? He wasn't even in the maze" Minho glances at Eleanor, who had started to sit up, and then looked back at Newt, his voice still at normal speaking volume, yet positively poisonous "We were talking about you. You and your shuck-headedness. It was your fault we were late for the doors closing" Newt looks absolutely bewildered and hurt, turning to look at Eleanor, whose face revealed realisation washing over her. She shook her head "No, no, no, no. Minho you don't understand, it's alright now," Minho ignored her and Newt cut her off "What're you talking about? What the bloody hell do you mean?" Eleanor was still shaking her head "She told me what you did, Newt" Minho nearly spat his name, ignoring Eleanor once again, who interrupted "Minho, it's ok now, it's alright. We both just saw the wrong things, it was stupid, stupid" Minho carried on "How you kissed her, then didn't tell anyone, didn't do anything more about it" Eleanor leant her head against Newt's shoulder, whispering "Don't listen to him, I understand, I understand. Don't listen" Newt glanced down at her, then looked back up at Minho, who continued "How you wouldn't let her talk to Thomas, or spend too much time with me, told her she was YOUR SHUCKING PROPERTY" He took a step closer, shouting the last sentence. Eleanor's head snapped up, her patience with Minho snapping as he shouted at Newt for such a stupid reason, and shouting back at him "Now you listen here, Minho; that's not what really happened and you know it. So stop acting like such a piece of klunk and get over the fact that yes, something happened, and yes I nearly shucking died, but I didn't, and it's no one's fault. NO ONE AT ALL. Do you hear me? No one's fault. So quit the yelling, calm your tits and untwist your runners undies, because your acting like a shuck idiot and you're gonna regret it later if you do anything else stupid" Minho and Newt both looked at Eleanor, who was now looking very weak and fragile after using up so much energy yelling. Minho's eyes pooled with tears, and he looked back at Newt, almost whispering "I'm sorry" and sinking into a chair, emotionally exhausted. "I just, I thought you were going to die, and I suppose I had to blame it on someone" He looked up at Newt and told him again "I'm really sorry, Newtie" Newt nodded numbly, then his eyes cleared and he looked at Minho properly, taking in his dishevelled clothes, unkempt hair, and massive bags under his eyes, and saying "It's ok mate. I was blaming you anyways" They both laughed, and Minho reached out and slapped Newt on the shoulder, before sitting down again. "Boys" muttered Eleanor, rolling her eyes and settling against Newt's chest, twisting the covers around in her hands. Newt wrapped his hands around her "Aww, but you love us, don't you El" He winked at her, and she giggled, slapping his chest lightly, saying "Yeah, I do" and glancing up at Minho "You too, shuck-face" Minho laughed, asking them with a smirk "Comfortable there, are we?" Eleanor shrugged, asking him "You've been wanting to tease us ever since I told you, haven't you?" Minho smiled broadly, admitting "Yeah, just didn't think it was quite the right time" Newt exhaled exasperatedly "Go on then, have a go, let it all out" Minho's grin widened, and he inhaled, drawing breath for the rant of teasing sure to come, and began. "Now I always knew this was gonna happen, I was waiting for timid Newtie to make his move" He glanced at Eleanor and added in a mock whisper "Should've herd him ranting on about your hair, your legs, your butt, hell I think he even admired your shucking shoulders or some other klunk like that. And don't even get me started on how many times I had to hear about what a shank Thomas is" She laughed, and he continued "Anyways, I always knew my little kiddlywinks would end up together, but just so you know, I was rooting for you to the entire time, and Frypan owes me extra dinner for a week" He leant back in his chair, and Eleanor asked sceptically "That's it?" He looked at her and replied "Nah, I wanna keep some of them for later, keep the suspense, ya know" But then his face lights up with humour, and he leans forward before wagging his finger at the two of them, saying "Now remember princess, if he's not wearing the glove, don't give him no love!" He leaned back in his chair, very pleased with himself, and everything was silent for a minute, Newt and Eleanor exchanging dazed and absolutely shocked faces, and then they laughed. They laughed and laughed, then talked about everything, anything. They fell asleep like that, Eleanor curled around Newt, head resting on his chest while his arms were still wrapped around her waist, and Minho sitting, now slumped in the chair on the side of the bed, snoring extremely loudly.


	8. Chapter 7

**chapter 7**

Eleanor wakes up to the bright sun creeping through the drawn curtains of the med room. She looks up at Newt, and see that he is awake and playing with her hair. "Hey" she greets him, and he looks down, slightly surprised, then glances at Minho, who is still asleep in his chair, snoring loudly, and leans down to kiss her. They pull away and he whispers against her lips "Morning El" She giggles, still groggy from sleep, and captures his lips with her own once again, moving up a bit further to deepen the kiss. Newt's grip on her waist tightens, and her hands wrap their way around his neck, threading into his hair. Just at that moment, they hear soft giggling coming from the side of the bed. They pull away, looking confusedly at each other when the source of the noise becomes clear "Oh, don't mind me, carry on" Eleanor's eyes widen at Minho's voice, before she groans and rests her forehead on Newt's chest, sliding back away from his mouth. Newt looks at Minho, rolling his eyes at his friend's mock sad face. Eleanor peeks up at Minho, who is now laughing hysterically "You know, you were asleep" She defends herself. Minho's laugh just increases, and he replies in between laughs "Yeah! And you can just imagine the shock I got to waking up seeing you guys all over each other!" He laughs again, and Newt and Eleanor exchange grimaces before he continues, still giggling uncontrollably "You guys must have been going at it for ages" "Uhhhhh" Eleanor groans, and when Minho just continues laughing, she adds matter-of-factly "You're such a perv, Minho. You know that?" Minho's laughing decreases slightly, and after a while, he calms down. Eleanor moves to sit up, but lets out a gasp when she feels pain flash through her entire body, and she remembers what had happened. Newt's eyes instantly light up in alarm, and he eases her gently back down into a lying position, and Minho becomes alert, sitting up straighter and looking serious once again. They exchange worried glances, and Eleanor reassures them; "Guys, I'm alright" and when this is just met by sceptical looks from the two of them, she jokes "Well I could snog Newt alright, couldn't I? I'm not a bloody cripple" The boys laugh lightly, and she giggles, settling down again against Newt's side. Jeff comes in a little while later, sending the boys off, practically shoving them out of the door. A few days pass, with Newt coming in every hour, checking in on her, and sleeping with her every night. Minho had come in every morning before he left for the maze, and as soon as he got back, he'd come straight to check up on her. Finally, when her cuts had healed enough for her to move without pain, her rib had been fixed, muscles rested heavily, and bruises almost better, Jeff told her that she could leave. "When can I start running again?" She had asked him when leaving "Uhh" Jeff had begun thoughtfully, "Well, as long as it doesn't hurt you too much, you should be ready to run whenever you like" She had grinned "Really?!" "Yep!" Jeff had mocked her enthusiasm, squealing and jumping about while she laughed, poking her tongue out at him, thanking him once again and leaving to go find Newt. She found him working in the gardens, fixing a plant structure holding up the strawberries, and ran up to him, slowing down when coming closer to him. She jumped on his back, and he yelled out in shock, having the air knocked out of him. "What the bloody hell" He laughed, soon realising that it was Eleanor, and spinning around so she was cuddling his front, their noses touching. She placed her feet back on the ground, and wrapped her arms around his neck, smiling brightly up at him, "Guess what? I'm free to go!" He laughed gleefully, saying "Finally, you'll be all mine" She laughed, kissing him lightly, then pulling away and saying "And… I can run again, anytime I'm ready!" His eyes widened, and he frowned slightly. Eleanor pulled back slightly, looking at him, surprised at his reaction "What? Isn't that a good thing?" He grimaced and said "Yeah, I just don't really want you going out there again, though" She leant into him and whispered against his lips "Don't worry, we'll save our gossip sessions for later from now on. I'll be careful" He laughed, kissing her sweetly. She pulled away, spinning around and tugging on his hand, saying "Come on, I'm starving!" and then adding "And I can tell Minho I can run again!" He laughed, and they walked towards the kitchen, seeing Minho jogging out of the East door on their way. Eleanor winked at Newt, and ran off towards Minho, sprinting to catch up to him before he headed over to the med-room. She slowed down ever so slightly when she caught up to him, then jumped on him just like she had Newt. He let out a high-pitched squeal of surprise, spinning around, breath knocked out of him. Eleanor laughed, hugging him tightly and telling him the same news she had Newt, and his response to her running picking back up was just what she had hoped for. He had grinned widely, slinging an arm around her shoulders and telling her "Good, I'll have my running partner back! Ahh, we can finally have some fun around here again!" They both laughed, and reached Newt, who was chuckling, and told Minho "You squealed like a shuck girl, man" Minho reddened, saying defensively "No I didn't" Eleanor laughed, telling him in between giggles; "Yeah you did, you screamed like a little Minho baby!" Eleanor and Newt burst into laughter, and they ate dinner, talking and laughing. Thomas had sat with them at dinner, and though Newt had shifted closer to Eleanor, he didn't say anything, just keeping his expression neutral.

That night, they had a party, just because, and Eleanor actually enjoyed this one. She laughed and talked with Newt, and then when Alby had come to talk to him, she had gotten up to find Minho, running into Thomas. She had laughed and talked with him for nearly an hour, and somewhere in the conversation had told him that she couldn't dance for shuck. "Come on, I'll show you!" He told her, laughing at her grimace "No way! I'll kill your feet!" They both laughed, and he pulled her up off the log they were sitting on, saying "Nah, these babies are made of steel!" She stood up, and gripped his hand and shoulder, laughing as he instructed her where to put her feet. "Eleanor," Thomas began, suddenly serious. She looked up at him, and he continued "I just wanted to say I'm really sorry, I acted like a real shuck face about the whole Newt thing" She opened her mouth to respond, but he cut her off, adding "It's just because I care about you, but I don't want you to think you can't be friends with other people, not just me" He finished, looking at her nervously for her response. She looked up at him and smiled, telling him "It's alright Tommy, I don't mind" He smiled back at her and she continued "You were just being normal, Newt was acting strange that day, I wouldn't worry about it. You're the best" They both laughed, and kept dancing for a while, talking and joking around. Suddenly, Thomas' laughter died down abruptly as he looked over her shoulder, and she glanced behind her to find Newt coming over to them, not looking very happy. She frowned, ready for the accusations sure to come. He reached them, saying to her "I thought you were going to find Minho?" She frowned at him, and replied "Well I found Tommy instead" Thomas stepped back from Eleanor slightly, obviously not wanting to cause another scene, and she shot him a grateful glance, turning around to face Newt fully, frowning up at him. He still looked angry, and slightly hurt. He wrapped an arm around her waist, looking into her eyes almost defiantly, and she said over her shoulder "Night Tommy, I'll see you later" Thomas nodded, frowning yet trying not to enrage Newt further, and said, "Yeah, see you later" Eleanor walked off towards the deadheads, but Newt pulled her back when she was at the edge of the party, wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her closer to him. "What?" She asked him defiantly. Winston walked past, shooting them a wink, and they lowered their voices. "It's just, you were dancing with him, El. I mean, you were getting pretty cosy!" Newt went straight into accusing mode, and she frowned up at him, fairly pissed off, saying "What, I'm not allowed to talk to him and hang out with him? He is my friend, Newt" He looked down at her, looking hurt now, and said "It's just, I don't want to lose you" Her expression softened and she reassured him "You won't lose me, don't worry, I'm all yours" Newt looked into her eyes and said "Good, I don't ever want to" She smiled, leaning in to his lips and whispering "You never will" He smiled against her lips, kissing her softly. She pulls away from him, and says come on, before Minho sees and starts a group perv or something. Newt laughs, following towards their hammocks. She pauses at her own hammock, but Newt laughs, shaking his head and pulling her further towards his own, climbing in and pulling her in after him. She obliges, allowing him to pull her into the hammock, snuggling in and resting her head in the crook of his neck as he wraps his arms firmly around her waist. He kissed the top of her head and they both drifted off to sleep.

The next morning, Eleanor wakes to someone prodding her on the shoulder, and swats the hand away groggily, still half asleep, turning over and nestling herself back into the curves of Newt's body. She sighs happily, content to go back to sleep, when the prodding continues. She groans "Uhhh, what? I'm sleeping" The person prodding her giggles, and she thinks she can vaguely recognise it. She rolls over to face the intruder, and her suspicions are confirmed; yep. Minho, the little klunk face. "What?" She snaps at him, and he pulls back, mock offended and informs her "It's running time, sweetheart" Eleanor wakes up almost fully, excited to get back out there, and begins untangling herself from Newt's grasp. Newt groans and rolls over, pulling her back to him and wrapping his arms tighter around her waist, his eyes still closed as he snuggles into her and asks groggily "Where're you going?" Eleanor glares at Minho, who is giggling, and replies to Newt, trying to shift his hands and escape; his cuddle was too tempting, it made her want to roll over and go back to sleep "I'm running, Newtie, lemme up" He groans again, loosening his grip slightly and opening one eye, peering down at her and then glancing at Minho, releasing her from his grasp and stretching, saying sarcastically "Morning, Minho. Lovely to wake up to your face again today" Minho laughs, saying "Aww, Newtie gets funny when he's tired!" Newt chuckles throatily, and looks down at Eleanor, who had leant over on the hammock to put on her shoes, and says "Come back, ok" She turns to face him and says "I always do!" With a small wink, letting him know she'll be careful. He nods, sighing, and says "I'm going back to sleep, have fun running" Minho and Eleanor laugh, and she squeezes his hand lightly before getting up, heading with Minho to the runner's shack, where they collect supplies and then walk out into the maze, breaking into a jog and then faster run as they get further in the maze. They stop for lunch, talking and joking only for a few minutes before getting up and heading back the way they came to get to the doors in time. Minho picks up the pace a little, probably frightened that Newt will murder him if they're only slightly early or on time, and Eleanor matches his pace. She's surprised that she can keep up easily, as though she didn't have a week off of running daily. She matches Minho's speed all the way back to the doors, where they slow down to a jog on the last corridor. Minho glances at her, eyebrows raised, obviously surprised as well by her fitness level, and asks as they enter the glade, Newt coming over already, a huge smile plastered across his face; "How the shuck did you keep up? You've been out for a week!" Eleanor laughs, still puffing, and replies "I dunno actually, must be really fit" She says sarcastically, flexing her muscles in her arms mockingly, and Minho laughs, replying as he slings an arm over her shoulders "Yep, must be" He pulls back slightly, and eyes up and down her body, whistling and saying "Phew! And you got a killer bod, sweetheart!" Eleanor laughs loudly, running her hands down her sweaty body and saying jokingly, "I know! I'm super sexy! I got the best bod out!" They both laugh, Minho pulling her into a hug, as they reach Newt, who is looking slightly less happy, but still pleased to see them. "Hey Newtie" Eleanor greets him, giving him a hug and his arm wraps around her waist. "You're back!" Eleanor laughs lightly, pulling Newt towards the map room, and says "I can't believe you doubted me!" Minho laughs, and yells over his shoulder, as he had walked ahead of them towards the map room; "You?! It was me who did all the hard work! I had to practically carry her out of bed this morning! Took me at least five minutes to get her awake even!" He turns around as he reaches the map room, and waits for Eleanor and Newt to catch up before opening the door and adding "You looked very cute, by the way. All snuggled up" Minho laughs at Eleanor's cocked eyebrow and unimpressed expression and Newt's slightly flustered one, and heads into the map room, starting on the map, with Eleanor's help.


	9. Chapter 8

**chapter 8**

The next day, Eleanor wakes up bright and early again, and heads out for another day in the maze with Minho. When they get back, Newt is nowhere to be seen, and Eleanor supposes he's with Alby somewhere, and heads straight to the map room with Minho. They finish the day's map fairly quickly, and head over to put their running supplies away when they run into Thomas. "Hey Tommy" Eleanor greets him with a smile. He glances up and smiles back when he sees her, reaching them and changing directions, slinging an arm over her shoulder and greeting her with "Good to see you survived another day in the maze, shuck-face" Eleanor laughs, replying with "Aww, Tommy; it's good to see you care" They both laugh lightly and Minho pipes up "Thomass! You didn't tell me that you're glad I survived another day in the maze?! Don't you love me anymore?' Thomas and Eleanor laugh as Minho continues with a mock sad-face; "Come to think of it, you didn't tell me quite a few things actually. Like how gorgeous I look today" He counts on his fingers as he speaks, "Or how much you love me. Or how much you cried when I left without giving you a kiss goodbye this morning!" Minho finishes, looking up at the still laughing Eleanor and Thomas, as they reach the runner shack. They put their gear away in the runners shack and head over to dinner, seeing Newt sitting and eating with Winston. Eleanor grabs her food and slides in next to him. He grins, turning around and greeting her "Well hello there" She smiles at him, turning to her food and eating. Newt continues his conversation with Winston, and Eleanor begins talking to Thomas and Minho, who are mock-arguing over whether or not Minho should have told Eleanor about their 'relationship' "I just thought it was a private thing, babe" Thomas tells Minho, eyes wide, and Minho replies "It is, but I want the entire world to know about us, honey" Thomas grins, tweaks Minho's cheek and says "It's alright, love. I'm glad she knows" Minho laughs, smiling at him with mock admiration and overly gooey eyes and says "Aww, you're the best" Thomas brushes his shoulder sarcastically, before saying "Yeah, I know. You love me" Minho looks at him as he smirks, and then bursts into laughter along with Eleanor. Newt turns around as Winston had left and asks confusedly "What's so funny?" But Minho, Thomas and Eleanor are all crying with laughter and unable to respond, so he just shrugs and begins to eat, glancing at them weirdly as they continue to laugh for another good three minutes. Later on, Eleanor and Newt are walking back to the hammock that they now sleep in together each night, Newts arm snaked around her waist. They climb in to the hammock, and she snuggles into his chest, breathing in his heavenly scent. She looks up at him and pecks him lightly on the lips, but his lips capture her own before she can pull away and he kisses her passionately. They break away after a while and he says "I haven't seen you all day!" She nods, understanding completely and kisses him again "I know…I missed you" He smiles at her and replies "I missed you too" They kiss again, and she pulls away, sighing contentedly and snuggles her head into the crook of his neck, and they fall asleep soon after.

The next day, Eleanor and Minho head out into the maze again, running faster than normal to their section and arriving an hour before they were supposed to. They decide to go further in to the maze, to explore its outer corridors while they had the time. They run for another hour, stopping for a short lunch, and then head back. After running for about half an hour, they realise they will only just make it back in time for the doors to close; they were normally back by now. Minho glances at Eleanor and informs her needlessly that they need to speed up if they want to make it back in time, and she nods, letting out a deep breath and picking up her pace. They race through the corridors, reaching the second last one in almost no time, though they can hear the doors beginning to close. They both sprint down the last two corridors, running into the glade with the doors only about two meters away from them on either side. They both slow down, hunching over panting, and Minho comes up and claps her on the back, saying "Good running, sweetheart, didn't think we'd make it after the time we spent in there" Eleanor laughs breathlessly, looking up at him and smiling. She glances behind him to see Newt storming up to them, not looking happy. "Here we go," She mutters, and nods towards Newt when Minho just looks confused. His expression quickly fades into exasperation, as he awaits Newt's wrath at not getting Eleanor back in time. Newt reaches them, and glares alternatively at the two of them. Eleanor is confused as to why he is **so** upset, and asks cautiously "Newt…What's wrong?" Newt looks at her, hurt and mainly anger flashing across his face as he asks her stiffly "Why are you so late getting back?" Eleanor frowns at him and replies "We got back in time, calm down" He glares at Minho and asks him, fury ringing from his voice, which is deathly quiet "Did you touch her?" Eleanor and Minho both gasp, looking at Newt with disbelief and shock etched into their features. Minho finally replies "No, you shuck-face, I didn't touch her. You know I wouldn't, what're you getting at? Why would you think I did?!" Newt just glares at the two of them and says, as if stating the obvious "you guys were late, you haven't been late since…the incident. And you expect me to believe that nothing happened? You just took it easy?" Eleanor's expression quickly changes to one of fury, as she says with a strong tinge of murder laced through her voice "Are you kidding me? I can't believe that you'd actually accuse us of something like that!" Newt steps forward and says "What? After all the time you spend together you expect me to believe that you never did anything?" Eleanor raises her voice slightly, saying "Yes Newt, I expect you to shucking trust me!" "How can I when you're always around him" He responds. "So what? I can't be friends with him now can I?" Newt nods, glaring at her. All of the pent-up emotions that she had been feeling towards Newt's overly jealous and untrusting side rise, and instead of fighting them down and remaining calm like she normally does, she just lets go, lets it all out. She practically yells "You know what? Shuck you! I don't have to follow any of your stupid rules, and I am **not** ditching Minho just because you can't trust me! You don't let me talk to anyone, or have any friends! You're going crazy with jealousy over something that never even happened, and I'm sick of it!" She screams at him, and his face fades slowly into fear and regret, saying quietly "I'm sorry, but I just think that you spend so much time with him…" Eleanor's eyes widen in fury, and she says at normal speaking level, "Well then maybe you just shouldn't think about it then" Minho and Newt's heads both snap up, looking at her with fear in their wide eyes, and Minho quickly says "Eleanor, clam down, it's alright, ok" Eleanor looks sharply at the boy and says "Shut up Minho, it's not alright" She then looks at Newt, tears streaming down her face as she looks at him challengingly "You can't expect me to just sit back and watch you with him all the time and not wonder, can you?!" Newt says, his voice rising. Eleanor looks him dead in the eye and almost screams "Yes Newt, I expect you to see me with my **friends**! I expect you to trust me and that I will not do anything!" Newt shakes his head violently and screams at her "I can't, alright? I can't help but wonder!" She looks at him, hurt etched into her features, yet she yells at him, voice full of rage; "That's it, I'm sick of it. If you can't trust me, if you can't let me have friends, then I don't know what to do! I'm sick of being treated like your shucking property Newt! That's it, I'm sick of it. I can't do it anymore, I want to be able to have friends!" She screams, sure that the entire glade can hear by now, and Newt's face is mainly one of fear, with anger still laced through his posture and features, and she continues, "I'm done with it. I'm done with being shucking yours, Newt!" She finishes, tears streaming down her face as she looks at him, her face still showing the hurt that she feels, and Newt's expression turns to one of disbelief and shock. Minho reaches out to touch Eleanor's arm, saying quietly "Eleanor, you don't mean that" She looks up at him, the at Newt, and says "I do" She turns around, not wanting Newt to see her break down, and strides quickly towards the deadheads. Newt goes to follow her, but Minho holds out a hand to stop him, saying "No, I'll talk to her" Newt's expression changes once again, and he glares up at Minho, yelling "It's all your fault!" Newt rears back to punch Minho in the face, but Alby comes out of nowhere and grabs his arm, looking at him sharply. Newt glares at Minho, then Alby, and stalks off in the other direction. Minho nods sadly at Alby, and runs off after Eleanor.


	10. Chapter 9

**chapter 9**

He finds her in the deadheads, curled up against a tree still fuming, with hot, angry tears rolling thickly down her face. Her head snaps up as his footsteps are audible, and her posture stiffens; she wipes her face and composes her face, looking up and glaring at the intruder. But as soon as she sees its Minho, her eyes fill with sadness, hurt and tears, she slumps back against the tree, and looks down again. Minho reaches her and sits down, pulling her into him and wrapping his arms around her waist, and she rests her head on his chest. He can feel the dampness of his shirt as she cries, and cries, her tears seemingly endless. He rubs her back soothingly, saying softly "Hey, hey. It's alright, it's all gonna be ok. You guys will get through this it's just a stupid fight because you're both tired" She looks up at him, and says softly "I want to get through this, but I don't see where anything would go if he can't trust me, I'm sick of being treated like property" Her entire demeanour screams exhaustion and sadness, and Minho says "You're just tired. It'll all be alright tomorrow, don't worry" She pulls back from him slightly and looks him in the eye, saying sadly "No Minho, I'm sick of it. I don't want to be with someone who can't trust me and let me have friends just because they're too stupid to see that I care about them too much to hurt them" Her voice breaks at the end, and she looks down, burying her head back into Minho's chest, as he rubs circles onto her back and says "Yeah, yeah alright. I understand" Eleanor nods and falls asleep soon after. Eleanor wakes up the next morning on auto-pilot, and shakes Minho awake as well. He starts, stretching and yawning as he looks around, taking in his surroundings. Eleanor hops up, helping Minho up after her and informs him "We're going running" Minho looks at her, aghast, and says "Eleanor, you can take a day off" Eleanor shakes her head adamantly and tells him quietly "I want to let some steam off, before I yell at someone" Minho understands immediately, and nods, heading off to the runners shack with Eleanor in tow. They enter the maze shortly after, and they run. Eleanor runs at her normal pace, leaning into turns automatically, knowing the maze like the back of her hand by now. She thinks about Newt, and how shucking stubborn he is being. He can't even trust her to go running, or talk to anyone. She doesn't need his stupidity in her already abnormal life, she doesn't need him. He's a shucking piece of klunk, a stupid, untrusting piece of klunk. She can feel her legs pumping slightly faster as she runs, and loves the feel of letting her emotions out through running, pushing her legs faster. She rounds bend after bend, practically sprinting for a solid hour and a half. She reaches the spot where they normally stop for lunch, and stops, looking behind her. Minho is nowhere to be seen, she must have run too far ahead. She decides she wants to be alone, and calls out "Minho?" She gets a responding shout of "Is that you, speedy-Gonzales?" The shout had come from at least twenty turns away, and she barks a laugh, responding "Yeah. I'm gonna run ahead, don't wait up for me. I'll be extra careful, don't worry, I won't go to deep into the maze, and I'll be back before the doors close, easy. I just wanna run" She waits for his response, and gets a "Yeah, alright. Just be careful, I'll be right shucked if you get stuck" Eleanor laughs, turning around and running away, away from everything. She runs for another two hours, running around the maze, not going too deep just in case. She runs as fast as she can, straining herself to go faster, harder. It feels so good to just let go, let her anger, frustration and hurt work transform into energy, letting it all out. She runs for another hour, going slightly deeper into the maze. She checks her watch, slowing slightly as she reads that she has about thirty minutes before the doors close. She smiles to herself, knowing that she will have to sprint the entire way back. She turns around, and sets off, sprinting around the corners, pumping her legs and arms to make herself go faster. She's just sprinting down the last corridor into the glade when the doors begin to close, and she runs through them with ample time to spare, running straight into the glade, past all of the slack-jawed runners as they grouped around the other doors, looking at her incredulously; she had run past quite a few of them on her rounds of the maze, almost sprinting most of the time, and each time, they had stopped running, looking at her in shock, and one pair had said in awe and disbelief; "Didn't we just see her like an hour ago? She must have been running like crazy" She just keeps running, slowing to a jog as she nears the map room. She enters, seeing Minho leaning over a map, and he looks up at her, relieved. "How shucking fast did you run sweetheart?" He asks, and she responds with "Dunno, but I can take two sections tomorrow, Harry's sick anyway, and I ran at least four or five today" Minho's eyebrows shoot up, and he just nods numbly, and replies "Yeah, I know, five pairs of runners saw you sprinting past like a shucking arrow, all thought you'd seen a griever or something like that" Eleanor laughs breathlessly, and Minho adds "That's fine, you can run with me for our section, then take off and cover Harry and Peter's section; Harry's sick and Peter did some shuck to his leg today" Eleanor nods enthusiastically, and says "Great. Now let's get started on these maps" Minho nods, and they draw maps up for about an hour, Eleanor pointing out different things she noticed on her un today, and half way through, Minho had left to get some dinner from Frypan, bringing something back for Eleanor, and they ate in the map room, talking and laughing. Thomas joined them walking over to the hammocks, talking to Eleanor for a while before heading off to his own hammock. Eleanor falls asleep soon afterwards, and wakes up bright and early the next morning, almost repeating yesterday's routine. She runs in pace with Minho for their section, and then sprints off towards Harry and Peter's two sections, sprinting down corridor after corridor, sharply turning bend after bend, never stopping or slowing down, and it feels great. She makes it back to the glade at around the same time as yesterday, and heads straight for the map room again. She meets Thomas along the way, and he comes and talks to her while she maps, asking incredulously "You ran three entire sections? And two in just three hours?" She nods, looking down, yet laughing as he says "you're gonna have a smoking bod pretty soon" She responds quickly with "And I don't already?" They both laugh, heading to dinner after everyone else had eaten, with Minho; who had joined them a bit later in the map room. She repeats roughly the same thing for about three more months, exploring outer corridors as she can go faster for longer. After a few months of sprinting all day every day, Eleanor realises that Thomas was right, she had gotten a fit body. Her legs are now heavily toned, her stomach completely flat with soft outlines of abs hinting at her fitness level. She no longer talks to many gladers other than Minho, Thomas, Winston occasionally, and Alby when important. She still thinks about Newt, but makes a point of spending hours in the map room or the deadheads to miss him at breakfast and dinner, not wanting to see him. Every now and the she'll see him from a distance, but she'll always look away and concentrate on something else. She had no idea that he had watched her transformation from a bubbly, chatty and beautiful girl into a hard set, athletic, reclusive shadowed excuse for a girl. Most people don't notice the change that she had gone through, losing her best friend, but the people that know her do, though they thoroughly avoid hinting at the subject. Winston had told her once "He's an absolute mess, like the opposite of you. He still works, but just mopes about in his free time. He has permanent bags under his eyes and looks like he wants cry and punch something at the same time 24/7" Eleanor had looked at him surprised, and he had added "Yeah. And once, someone made some joke about how fit you're looking after running so much, and he just stormed off, and didn't speak to anyone for the rest of the day" That night, they had another party for the new greenie, and Eleanor allowed herself to wind down a bit, talk to some people tonight, having being persuaded by Thomas and Minho. She sat in a circle with Jeff, Winston, Jack, Liam, Minho and Thomas. She didn't really know Jack or Liam all that well, and they were playing truth or dare. It was Liam's turn, and he smirked, looking at Eleanor and asking her "truth or dare, speedy" She laughed, and replied bravely "dare, try me" Liam laughed, and said "Hmmm… I dare you to…" He trailed off, looking around for some inspiration, and he snapped his fingers, saying "I know! I dare you to make out with someone for thirty seconds!" Eleanor laughed, squinting at him and saying defiantly "I accept. Who?" Liam frowned, looking around the circle, and said "Minho" Eleanor shrugged, lifting her head off of Minho's shoulder where it had been resting and said jokingly to him "get ready for the best kiss of your life, buddy" Minho laughed, smirking at her and challenging "I bet you can't do it" She raised an eyebrow at him and leaned in, kissing him for a full thirty seconds. They pulled away, took one look at each other, and burst out laughing, Eleanor collapsing on his lap, shaking with laughter. Liam frowned, muttering "Well that's not how I expected it to go" Eleanor just laughed, resting her head on Minho's leg, calming down, and said "ok, my turn" She looks around, and she says slyly "Winston, truth or dare" Winston looks at her and replies "Dare" Eleanor laughs gleefully, saying "I dare you to kiss Gally on the cheek" Winston gasped, looking at her and then saying defiantly "Fine" Before walking up, kissing Gally on the cheek super quickly, and running back to the group, who were all laughing extremely hard. He mumbled a "Shut up" Eleanor headed to bed a while later, having to get up and go running the next morning. Little did she know that Newt had been watching the whole ordeal, and was currently fuming, breaking inside over how quickly she had gotten over him.


	11. Chapter 10

**chapter 10**

The next day, Eleanor was out in the deadheads after her day of running in the maze when Newt came limping up to her, a set look on his hardened face. She looked up sharply, pulling her long brown hair into a high ponytail. He approached her, stopping just in front of her. She looked at him, however avoiding eye contact, and raised her eyebrows questioningly, her eyes narrowed suspiciously. Newt looked at her, trying to catch her gaze, and said gently "Look at me, Eleanor. Please" Eleanor's gaze snapped up to meet his in surprise, but as soon as she looked in his eyes, she averted her gaze once again. She didn't want to look at him, his eyes; she didn't want him to know how much he affected her. Newt sighed, and muttered "Fine. Alright then" He looked back up at her and said "I saw what happened last night" Eleanor looked at him, confused, and he continued; "When you kissed Minho" Eleanor opened her mouth to tell him what had actually happened, but he interrupted her "And I know that it's not my" he swallowed thickly "I know it's not my place anymore to comment on anything like that" Eleanor finally made eye contact with him, her eyes filled with confusion, hurt and a slight hint of longing, and his own with sadness, regret, frustration and obvious pain. "Newt, it's not like that with Minho, we're just friends" Newt still looked doubtful, and he blurted out "I just…I knew you'd end up with him. I knew it" Eleanor's gaze snapped away from Newt for a second, and then it bore back on him again, and she said "Just shut up Newt, you don't know anything, alright?" He looked at her, his eyes alive with anger and said "Well I saw you shucking kissing him, I think I know what's going on" Eleanor scoffed, and said "It was a dare, alright. I was dared to kiss my **friend**. Though I don't know why I need to clarify that with you, it's not your place anymore to care" Newt flinched at the last statement, and then said heatedly "It's always going to be my place to care, no matter what" Eleanor looked at him, tears forming in her eyes and replied hotly "So what? You just came over here to yell at me again for having friends?" Newt shook his head, muttering "No" Eleanor looked at him and said "Because I'll tell you what, you sure as shuck don't show you give a klunk about me at all" Newt's gaze snapped back up and he said "Well how am I supposed to? You're always in the bloody maze. That's all you do anymore, you just run, nothing else. You don't talk, nothing. Just run" Eleanor glared at him, hot tears pooling in her eyes "And why do you think that is? Maybe that's because of you, Newt" She looked at him, and saw something break in his eyes, and he responded quietly "I still care, El" She looked at him and he continued "And it still bloody hurts to see you so happy with them" Eleanor looked at him square in the eye and said heatedly "Well why the shuck does it hurt then?" He looked back at her challenging, a new fire blazing in his eyes as he raised his voice "Because I'm shucking sorry I couldn't trust you. Because I was so scared that you were too good to be actually all mine. Because I'm a bloody idiot" he looked her in the eyes and said, still with a force behind his voice "Because I love you" Eleanor blinked, looking at him, tears pouring down her face. She just stood there, so shocked at what he had just said. He just stood there, staring at her, his chest heaving. Their eyes connected, and she snapped out of her trance, throwing herself on him and smashing her lips against his. His arms found their way to her waist, and hers entangled themselves in his hair. The long missed embrace felt heavenly after going so long without it, and she sighed into the kiss, breaking away from him and whispering "Well I run so much because it hurt so much." He looked at her with pleading eyes, almost as if asking her not to remind him that he had hurt her, and she locked eyes with him, and continued "And it hurt so shucking bad because I love you" Newt's eyes exploded, and he pulled her back against him. "Shuck I've missed you" He breathed in between kisses. "You have no idea how much I missed you" They broke apart, both panting, and she rested her forehead against his, saying "I missed you too. I couldn't bear not being with you" Newt looked her in the eye and said softly "El, I'm really, really sorry. I acted like a shucking idiot, and then bloody ignored you. And I," He pecked her lightly on the lips before looking earnestly into her eyes and pronouncing "I completely trust you. I don't have the right to tell you who you can't be friends with, and I don't care anymore. I absolutely trust you" Eleanor beamed at him, and pulled him back towards her, saying softly "good" Newt leaned in further, whispering against her lips "Will you be mine?" Eleanor smiled against his lips and answered "Shuck yeah" Newt laughed lightly, pressing his lips against her own.


End file.
